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OFFICERS
LE ROY HENNESSEY, President and Treasurer
CARTER LUCAS, Secretary
R. B. ATTRIDGE, Vice-President
EDITORIAL
CARTER LUCAS
MANUSCRIPT
JAMES C. RUSSELL
PUBLICITY AND PROMOTION
R. B. ATTRIDGE M. J. BUCKLEY
F. L. BURNS J. M. ELLIOTT
HISTORY OF
MEDICINE AND SURGERY
and
PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS
OF CHICAGO
Endorsed by and Published Under
the Supervision of the Council
of the Chicago Medical Society
THE BIOGRAPHICAL PUBLISHING
CORPORATION
133 West Washington Street
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
Copyright, 1922, by
THE BIOGRAPHICAL PUBLISHING CORPORATION, CHICAGO
Printed by
CRAFTSMEN PRINTERS
701-703 South LaSalle Street
CHICAGO
Engravings by
JAHN & OLI.IER ENGRAVING CO.
554 West Adams Street
CHICAGO
Table of Contents
PAGE
FOREWORD 7
IN PRAISE OF THE PROFESSION 10
PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS OF THE PAST 11 to 186
MEDICAL COLLEGES 187 to 232
HOSPITALS 233 to 338
HEALTH DEPARTMENT 339 to 348
MEDICAL SOCIETIES 349 to 371
OATH OF HIPPOCRATES 372
PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS OF TODAY. . . .373 to 912
Foreword
This work had its inception in 1918 in the mind of Frank D. DuSouchet,
who for several years had1 been engaged in gathering for the Society of
Medical History of Chicago information concerning physicians and surgeons
of the past who had made medical history in this city. It was the plan of
Mr. DuSouchet to publish biographies of these men and women under the
sponsorship of the Society of Medical History. His painstaking and con-
scientious efforts, which were exhaustive, were nearing completion when ill-
ness prevented further progress by him.
The present publishers, learning that Mr. DuSouchet's plan awaited reali-
zation, determined to carry it into effect. Enlarging the scope of the work
considerably to include biographies of a greater number of deceased physi-
cians and surgeons, and adding thereto the histories of medical colleges,
hospitals and medical societies, and biographical data concerning present-
day physicians and surgeons, the publishers obtained endorsements of the
plan from representative members of the profession.
Subsequently the stamp of approval of the council of the Chicago Medical
Society was placed upon the plan with its official endorsement. At the re-
quest of the publishers, a committee was appointed to supervise the publi-
cation of the work.
This committee comprised Dr. George H. Weaver, who for many years
has taken a keen interest in local medical history, and Dr. Hugh N. Mac-
Kechnie, then secretary and now president of the Chicago Medical Society.
To these men the publishers wish to express lasting gratitude for their
unfailing kindness, their helpful suggestions and constant encouragement.
In the preparation of manuscript, no small thanks must be accorded several
physicians who not only have aided by contribution of valuable suggestion
and information obtainable only through personal channels, but who have
given of their own time and effort in the writing of institutional history and
personal annals. Among these contributors are Doctors Frank Billings,
William E. Quine, Otto L. Schmidt, Arthur R. Elliott, David W. Graham,
Arthur Dean Bevan, John Edwin Rhodes, William L. Noble, Frank T. An-
drews, Lester E. Frankenthal and Jacques Holinger.
To Dr. John S. Nagel, president, and Dr. John R. Harger, secretary of the
Chicago Medical Society during the period of preparation of the work, the
publishers are deeply indebted for their helpfulness in ways and on occasions
too numerous to be related. To seven former presidents, Doctors Ludvig
Hektoen, J. V. Fowler, William Allen Pusey, Charles E. Humiston, Charles
J. Whalen, William A. Evans and Harold N. Moyer, and a former secretary,
Dr. Charles H. Parkes, is due a vote of thanks for similar service rendered.
Various sources of information have been used in the compilation of his-
torical data. In some instances, where one or a few sources have been con-
sulted, references are given in foot-notes. In the majority of cases, however,
where references consulted have been too numerous to mention, the source of
information is omitted. It should also be noted that in many instances ex-
cerpts were made from other reference works without enclosing them in quo-
tation marks.
7
Among the works chiefly consulted which are not mentioned elsewhere
are "American Medical Biographies," edited by Doctors Howard A. Kelly
and Walter L. Burrage ; Andreas' History of Chicago; "A Group of Dis-
tinguished Physicians and Surgeons of Chicago," compiled by F. M. Sperry;
"Physicians and Surgeons of the West," edited by H. G. Cutler; and "His-
tory of Homeopathy," edited by Dr. William Harvey King.
The biographies of a majority of deceased physicians and surgeons are
substantially as prepared by Mr. DuSouchet and are founded on information
obtained by him.
It will be noted that the manner of presenting the biographies of physi-
cians and surgeons of the past differs from the usual, or formal, style of
biography, especially in the "leads" to the articles. Instead of always giving
the place and date of birth in the initial paragraph, followed by a record of
the life in chronological order, an attempt has been made to call to the
reader's attention at the outset the outstanding features in each career and
to limit the record of the life to actual facts. It is hoped that this change
will not be unwelcome.
The arrangement of the historical sections is in chronological order. The
biographies of physicians and surgeons, following those of the surgeons of
Fort Dearborn, which appear in the order of their service, are arranged ac-
cording to the dates of birth. The histories of medical colleges, hospitals
and medical societies are printed, in their respective sections, in the order
of their organization.
The photographic reproductions of pioneer physicians were made from
negatives furnished by Mr. DuSouchet. It will be noted that, of 172 men
and women whose biographies appear, only seven fail of photographic repre-
sentation. Exhaustive search and inquiry failed to reveal any likenesses of
these seven in existence.
The burden of editorial responsibility in the production of this volume,
as well as preparation of much of the manuscript, has been borne by Car-
ter Lucas, known to the newspaper world of Chicago during the past sev-
eral years both in an editorial and reportorial capacity. Authorship of the
bulk of the material in narrative form is to be credited to James C. Russell,
also known in the newspaper editorial world.
This work would not have succeeded had not its plan, which provided
hitherto lacking financial means of publication, been adequately presented
to the membership of the Chicago Medical Society which has sponsored and
supported it. In this endeavor generous assistance was rendered by the
officers of the society and of the branches and members of the council, who,
with few exceptions, realized the value of such an historical record and the
uniqueness of its character, and did their utmost wholeheartedly to help.
To them the publishers are deeply grateful.
In conclusion, the publishers wish to express their appreciation to the
individual members of the Chicago Medical Society herein represented who,
when the project was presented to them, accepted it in the spirit in which it
was offered and at its intended worth and gave needed material cooperation
by their subscriptions, and who gave just as needful moral assistance by
kindly commendation to their fellow members. To them is this work dedi-
cated, and offered herewith to their judgment.
THE PUBLISHERS.
8
History of
Medicine and Surgery
in Chicago
1803-1922
Including Historical Records of the Medical Colleges,
Hospitals, Medical Societies, the Chicago Health
Department, and Biographies of 172 Physicians and
Surgeons of the Past
IN PRAISE OF THE PROFESSION
BY ROBERT Louis STEVENSON
There are men and classes of men that stand
above the common herd: the soldier, the sailor,
and the shepherd not unfrequently ; the artist
rarely; rarelier still, the clergyman; the phys-
ician almost as a rule. He is the flower (such as
it is ) of our civilisation; and when that stage of
man is done with, and only remembered to be
marvelled at in history, he will be thought to have
shared as little as any in the defects of the
period, and most notably exhibited the virtues of
the race. Generosity he has, such as is possible
to those whoi practise an art, never to those who
drive a trade; discretion, tested by a hundred
secrets; tact, tried in a thousand embarrassments;
and what are more important, Heraclean cheer-
fulness and courage. So it is that he brings air
and cheer into the sick-room, and often enough,
though not so often as he wishes, brings healing.
— From Dedication of "Underwoods" from "Poems and
Ballads."
Reprinted by permission of the publishers, Charles Scribner's Sons.
Physicians and Surgeons
of the Past
An effort has been made to include in this
historical group those who have performed some
real service to medicine in a larger sense.
Among these are found the organizers and
supporters of medical societies; founders and
friends of hospitals and other institutions for
the care of the sick, unfortunate and aged; and
leaders in public health activities.
There are also those who have exerted their
influence in a wide way as medical teachers and
authors, and as advocates of improved methods
and standards in medical education. Many of
these by original investigation have advanced
the borders of medical knowledge and practice.
Among them are stars of the first magnitude
whose light has reached the farthest corner of
the earth, while others have only illuminated
their local region.
Available space has necessitated the omission
of some who might have been included in a
larger list, and who perhaps in some instances
were more worthy of inclusion than some of
these here selected.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 13
WILLIAM C. SMITH
First Surgeon of Fort Dearborn
The pioneer among physicians and surgeons of Chicago was Dr. William
C. Smith, the first surgeon of Fort Dearborn. Little is known of the life of
this pioneer, there being no definite information as to his birth or death.
United States army records show that Dr. Smith enlisted as surgeon's
mate July 2, 1802, and served until June 27, 1810, when he was mustered out.
It is believed that he accompanied the troops of Captain John Whistler, led
by Lieutenant James S. Swearingen, on the overland march from Detroit to
the Chicago River in the summer of 1803, and aided Captain Whistler in
building and establishing Fort Dearborn, that outpost of civilization. Nine-
teen days of actual marching were consumed in the journey through the
wilderness of Michigan and along the sand dunes bordering Lake Michigan.
At Fort Dearborn Dr. Smith, in common with the sixty-eight other mem-
bers of the garrison, endured the hardships of frontier life, and, with
meager equipment, fought the physical ills of Captain Whistler's command.
Soon after their arrival the troops suffered greatly from "bilious fevers" and
the young doctor was active in restoring them to health.
In a letter of December 9, 1803, to a friend in Detroit, recounting his
experiences and describing the condition of affairs at the new post, Dr. Smith
wrote, "Although winter is at hand, the post is not much advanced. Captain
Whistler and the garrison are housed in small temporary huts."
The surgeon, however, was more fortunately situated. With John LaLime,
the Indian interpreter of the garrison, "a very decent man and good com-
panion," he rented for the winter a cabin belonging to John Kinzie, one of
the earliest white settlers at Chicago. The cabin at that time was vacant,
and Dr. Smith and LaLime fitted it up in a comfortable manner, occupying
it until Mr. Kinzie came in the spring of 1804 and moved into it.
Dr. Smith remained as surgeon of the garrison until 1808, when he was
succeeded by Dr. John Cooper. With this, our knowledge of him ceases, but
his name will long be cherished as that of the first member of his profession
to minister to the physical comfort and well-being of his associates on the
banks of the Chicago River, the site of a city destined to rank as the medical
center of the world.
JOHN COOPER
Second Surgeon of Fort Dearborn,
(1786-1863)
Although some accounts of Fort Dearborn mention Dr. John Cooper as the
first surgeon at that isolated station, research has shown that he was pre-
ceded there by Dr. William C. Smith.
Dr. Cooper's grandfather, a British soldier, fought under Wolfe at Quebec
and was near his leader when he fell, mortally wounded, at fhe moment of
victory. The grandson was born in Fishkill, N. Y., June 6, 1786, and was
but 22 years old when he appeared at Fort Dearborn as surgeon for the
garrison. He had enlisted as surgeon's mate June 13, 1808, shortly after his
graduation from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York City.
Dr. Cooper journeyed to Chicago by way of Albany and Buffalo, where
he boarded the brig Adams. Seventeen days were spent in making the trip
from Buffalo to his new post on Lake Michigan.
14
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
JOHN COOPER
CLEMENT ALEXANDER FINLEY
ELIJAH DEWEY HARMON
SAMUEL GRANDIN JOHNSTON DECAMP
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 15
Acquaintance ripened into friendship between Dr. Cooper and Captain
John Whistler, commander of the fort, and the latter obtained from the secre-
tary of war permission for the surgeon to "suttle" for the garrison, that is,
to supply the soldiers with articles not furnished them by the government.
This resulted in a quarrel with John Kinzie and Matthew Irwin, the latter's
position as government factor carrying with it the right to suttle at the post.
As a result of this quarrel, Captain Whistler was transferred to Detroit and
Dr. Cooper's privilege to suttle was withdrawn. The atmosphere at the
fort becoming uncongenial to Dr. Cooper, he resigned his commission April
1, 1811, and returned home. Instead of beginning practice at Fishkill, he
settled at Poughkeepsie, where he remained in practice until his death in
1863.
From Dr. Cooper's letters from Fort Dearborn we have a picture of life
at the garrison, where the dullness of the isolation was lightened by fishing,
hunting and athletic contests with the Indians. The surgeon possessed two
good saddle horses and a hunting dog and must have found the surrounding
country a hunter's paradise. Upon his return home he went on horseback
by way of Detroit, Fort Wayne and Pittsburgh and over the mountains to
Fishkill and Poughkeepsie.
ISAAC VANVOORHIS
Third Surgeon of Fort Dearborn
(1790-1812)
The first of Fort Dearborn's surgeons to sacrifice his life for his country
was Dr. Isaac VanVoorhis, who was killed in the Indian massacre of August
15, 1812. He was one of the fifty-three persons slain by five hundred Potta-
watomies in their attack upon the band of ninety-five men, women and chil-
dren evacuating the fort.
Dr. VanVoorhis was born in Fishkill, N. Y., February 22, 1790, being the
eldest son of William Roe VanVoorhis and a descendant of Steven Corte of
Voorheis, who emigrated to America from Holland in 1660. He received
his early education in Newburgh, N. Y., and was graduated from the College
of Physicians and Surgeons, New York City, in 1808, being a classmate of
Dr. John Cooper.
After Dr. Cooper returned home from Fort Dearborn, Dr. VanVoorhis
applied for and received the appointment to succeed him. He arrived at the
fort in the spring of 1811 and thus had been there a little more than a year
when he met his death at the hands of the Indians at the age of twenty-two
years.
Little is known of the surgeon's life at the fort, but he was respected as a
young man of great promise and lofty ideals. A prophetic vision of the
future greatness of Chicago and America is shown in a letter written from
his lonely station in October, 1811. His words are especially significant when
one considers that the doctor was then but twenty-one years old.
"In my solitary walks," Dr. VanVoorhis wrote, "I contemplate what a
great and powerful republic will yet arise in this new world. _Here, I say,
will be the seat of millions yet unborn ; here the asylum of oppressed millions
yet to come.
"How composedly would I die could I be resuscitated at that bright era
of American greatness — an era which I hope will announce the tidings of
death to fell superstition and dread tyranny."
16 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
JOHN GALE
Fourth Surgeon of Fort Dearborn
(?-1830)
Cited for praiseworthy conduct at the battle of Fort Erie.
An officer of the gallant Twenty-third Infantry which, more than a century
later, was to emerge from the World War one of the most distinguished
regiments in the American Army.
A member of General Leavenworth's punitive expedition against the Indian
tribes on the upper Missouri.
These were some of the highlights in the career of Dr. John Gale, fourth
surgeon at Fort Dearborn. Dr. Gale came to the post in 1816 as the medical
officer of a detachment of two companies of infantry under the command of
Captain Hezekiah Bradley. These elements had been detailed to rebuild and
regarrison Fort Dearborn.
The soldiers removed the charred remains of the old fort which had been
burned at the time of the massacre and reconstructed it on a different plan.
They also gathered up the dead that had lain unburied where they fell in
the massacre and gave them decent sepulchre.
Dr. Gale was a member of the garrison of Fort Dearborn until 1818.
A native of New Hampshire, Dr. Gale enlisted from that state in the
War of 1812. He joined the Twenty-third Infantry as surgeon's mate July
6, 1812, and served with that regiment throughout the war. The files of the
Surgeon General of the Army contain the report of Brigadier General E. W.
Ripley, Commanding General, Second Brigade, concerning the battle of Fort
Erie, August 15, 1814. Therein that officer mentions in highest terms of
appreciation the skillfulness of Dr. Gale and others who had come under his
observation. At the close of the war Dr. Gale was mustered out June 15,
1815.
As surgeon's mate of the Third Infantry Dr. Gale re-enlisted on September
13, 1815, and on April 18, 1818, he was promoted to the rank of surgeon. He
was advanced to the grade of major surgeon on June 1, 1821. Dr. Gale was
on station at Fort Atkinson, 111., from January 1, 1826, to April 1, 1827. He
was next assigned to Jefferson Barracks, where he was on duty from June 3,
1827, until June 25, 1828. Then the major surgeon proceeded to Fort Leaven-
worth, where he was until May, 1829.
Dr. Gale accompanied General Leavenworth's expeditionary force of
twelve companies which had been sent from Fort Leavenworth to chastise
refractory Indians on the upper Missouri. The records of the surgeon gen-
eral's office show that in June, 1830, he was a member of a commission to
treat with the Indians at Prairie du Chien.
Surgeon Major Gale died at Fort Armstrong, 111., July 27, 1830.
J. PONTE COULANT McMAHON
Fifth Surgeon of Fort Dearborn
(? -1837)
Successor of Surgeon Major Gale at Fort Dearborn was Dr. J. Ponte
Coulant McMahon, who became a member of the garrison in 1818. On ac-
count of ill health, he ended his service there in 1820.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 17
Dr. McMahon was born in the District of Columbia, where he enlisted
November 21, 1817, as a surgeon's mate of the Third Infantry. He was
promoted to the grade of post surgeon July 23, 1819, and passed through
successive ranks to a surgeon's rating August 5, 1826. The records indicate
that Dr. McMahon was on station in New Orleans in 1825. Two years later
found him at Fort Snelling and in 1829 he had again returned to New Orleans.
To Tampa Bay he went in June, 1830, reporting to the surgeon general that
earlier arrival was prevented by sickness.
Dr. McMahon resigned from the army October 30, 1834, and died in April,
1837.
WILLIAM S. MADISON
Sixth Surgeon of Fort Dearborn
(? -1821)
Hero of Indian wars was Dr. William S. Madison, sixth surgeon of Fort
Dearborn. Dr. Madison succeeded Dr. McMahon at Fort Dearborn in 1820
and remained there until 1821.
Born in Kentucky, he enlisted on "The Dark and Bloody Ground" as a
surgeon's mate of the Seventeenth Infantry, December 2, 1812. He was
transferred to the First Infantry, May 17, 1815. Dr. Madison resigned
November 1, 1815, after the close of the war.
Re-enlisting, he was promoted to the grade of surgeon major October 5,
1816. He was assigned to the Third Infantry October 5, 1816. While with
this regiment, during its operations against the hostile Chippewas, he was
killed May 14, 1821.
THOMAS P. HALL
Seventh Surgeon of Fort Dearborn
(?-1825)
Authority on Indian tribes was Dr. Thomas P. Hall, seventh surgeon at
Fort Dearborn.
Dr. Hall was born in Maryland and was appointed from that state as major
surgeon. He was assigned to the Thirty-sixth Infantry July 10, 1813. He
was honorably discharged June 15, 1815.
As post surgeon, Dr. Hall rejoined the army December 12, 1820. He was
assigned to succeed Dr. Madison at Fort Dearborn in 1821, and remained
there until the garrison was withdrawn in 1823. The next year he was on
station in New York harbor.
Dr. Hall was the author of a valuable monograph concerning the Indian
tribes.
He died at the United States Arsenal near Augusta, Ga., on September 21,
1825.
CLEMENT ALEXANDER FINLEY
Eighth Surgeon of Fort Dearborn
(1797-1879)
In his later years Surgeon General of the United States Army, Dr. Clement
Alexander Finley served a part of his novitiate in military medical training
at Fort Dearborn, where he was the eighth surgeon.
18 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
A son of Samuel Finley, a soldier of the Virginia Cavalry in the Revolu-
tionary War and an intimate friend of George Washington, Dr. Finley was
born in Newville, Cumberland County, Pa., May 11, 1797. After a classical
education at Washington College, Pa., he studied medicine in Chillicothe,
Ohio, and was graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1818.
In that year he entered the United States army as surgeon's mate of the
First Infantry, then stationed at Baton Rouge, La., and was promoted to
assistant surgeon June 1, 1821. In 1828 Indian affairs became threatening
in Illinois and in an order of August 19, 1828, two companies of the Fifth
Infantry were sent to regarrison Fort Dearborn, which had lain unoccupied
since 1823. They arrived at Fort Dearborn October 3, 1828, and from that
time until December 14, 1830, Dr. Finley served as surgeon of the garrison.
July 13, 1832, Dr. Finley was promoted to surgeon, with the rank of major.
In the same year he married Miss Elizabeth Moore, daughter of Dr. Samuel
Moore, then director of the United States mint.
After extensive service in the Black Hawk, Seminole and Mexican wars,
Dr. Finley in 1861 became Surgeon General of the army. In 1862 he was
retired from active service at his own request, after having served his country
forty-four years in the medical department of the army.
The commission of Brevet Brigadier General was awarded Dr. Finley by
President Lincoln March 13, 1865, for long and faithful service, and July 10,
1876, Congress granted him the pay of a retired Brigadier General. He died
in Philadelphia, September 8, 1879.
ELIJAH DEWEY HARMON
Ninth Surgeon of Fort Dearborn
(1782-1869)
Known to the profession as the Father of Medicine in Chicago, Dr. Elijah
Dewey Harmon also was noted for having performed the first major opera-
tion in the city's history. This outstanding event took place in the winter
of 1832.
A half-breed Canadian had frozen his feet in bringing mail on horseback
from Green Bay, Wis., to Chicago. With a scant stock of instruments and
without the use of an anaesthetic, Dr. Harmon unaided amputated one foot
and a part of the other of the mail carrier.
The respect in which Dr. Harmon was held in the community was shown
when Harmon Court (now East Eleventh Street) was named in his honor.
It was in a residence at the southwest corner of Michigan Avenue and Har-
mon Court that the doctor spent the later years of his life.
The ninth surgeon of Fort Dearborn was born in Bennington, Vt., August
20. 1782, being the eldest son of Ezekiel Harmon and a descendant of John
Harmon, who came to America in 1636. Dr. Harmon studied medicine with
Dr. Benjamin Swift of Manchester, Vt., and began the practice of his pro-
fession in Burlington, Vt, in 1806. There he remained until 1812, when he
enlisted in the medical service of the government and served throughout the
war. He was assistant surgeon on Commodore McDonough's flagship, Sara-
toga, in the battle of Plattsburg in 1814.
After the war Dr. Harmon resumed practice in Burlington until financial
reverses in 1829 brought about his removal west. In May, 1830, he arrived in
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 19
Chicago and Dr. Finley, the surgeon of the fort, being absent, Dr. Harmon
was installed in his place. When his family came the next year they brought
his medical library, unequaled for many years by that of any other physician
in Chicago.
For two years the life of the surgeon was fairly uneventful. Then, on the
night of July 10, 1832, General Winfield Scott and the remnant of his com-
mand arrived at Chicago en route to Fort Armstrong at Prairie DuChien.
Two days previous to their arrival an attack of Asiatic cholera had broken
out among the troops with great violence and mortality. The garrison of
the fort was removed at once to an isolation camp in the medical charge of
Dr. Harmon and the fort was turned into a hospital for the newly arrived
cholera stricken troops. The cholera soon found its way into the isolation
camp and also into the village of Chicago, resulting in a number of deaths.
The mortality in comparison with the number of cases was so small that
Dr. Harmon considered that he was very successful in his treatment of the
disease. He ascribed his success to the fact that he did not employ calomel
in the treatment, in contrast to another doctor, who in attending the soldiers
inside the fort treated all cases with calomel and blood-letting.
In 1833, with many others, Dr. Harmon was seized with the Texas land
fever and went to that state, where he acquired five or six leagues of land.
After five years in that sparsely settled region, he returned to Chicago. The
Chicago city directory of 1848 lists him as in partnership with Dr. Brockholst
McVickar.
In person Dr. Harmon was a commanding figure. Dr. J. Nevins Hyde in
his "Early Medical Chicago" writes that "his face proclaimed his parentage
and his profession."
His death occurred January 3, 1869, when he was 87 years old. He is buried
in Graceland cemetery.
SAMUEL GRANDIN JOHNSTON DE CAMP
Tenth Surgeon of Fort Dearborn
(1788-1871)
The class of 1808 of the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York
City, furnished three of its members to service at Fort Dearborn. They were
Doctors John Cooper, the second surgeon; his successor, Isaac VanVoorhis,
killed in the Indian massacre in 1812, and Samuel Grandin Johnston DeCamp,
the tenth surgeon.
Of the forty years spent by Dr. DeCamp in the medical service of the
government, but five months were passed at the station on Lake Michigan.
He arrived there June 17, 1832, and remained until November 23 following.
On the night of July 10, 1832, came the cholera-stricken troops of General
Winfield Scott. Fort Dearborn immediately was turned into a hospital in
charge of Dr. DeCamp, who, after the scourge had subsided, made the official
report to the government.
This shows that two hundred cases were admitted to the hospital in the
course of six or seven days, fifty-eight of which terminated fatally. The
employment of calomel and blood-letting in the treatment of all cases proved
so efficacious, according to the report, that Dr. DeCamp regarded the disease
as "robbed of its terrors."
20
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
PHILIP MAXWELL
ALEXANDER WOLCOTT
THOMAS SPENCER
JOSIAH COSMORE GOODHUE
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 21
Dr. DeCamp, a son of John DeCamp, was born in Upper Long-wood, N. J.,
in 1788. The progenitor of the DeCamp family in America was Lawrence
DeCamp, a Huguenot, who emigrated from Normandy in 1664.
Following his graduation from the College of Physicians and Surgeons,
New York City, in 1808, Dr. DeCamp began the practice of his profession in
Petersburg, N. J., in 1809, in which year he married Miss Nancy Wood. He
served as surgeon's mate in the War of 1812, after which he resumed practice
in Petersburg until October 10, 1823, when he re-enlisted as surgeon's mate.
There followed service at Governor's Island, N. Y., in the Seminole war,
and at other stations before the doctor was ordered to report at Fort Dear-
born. In December, 1833, came promotion to surgeon with the rank of
major.
Dr. DeCamp served throughout the Mexican war and at several stations
prior to the beginning of the Civil war, when he was named medical director
of St. Louis. Later he was stationed at Watervliet, N. Y., where he resigned
his commission August 27, 1862. bringing to an end an active medical career
of fifty-four years.
His last years were spent at Saratoga Springs, N. Y., where he died Sep-
tember 8, 1871, at the age of 83 years.
Thanks are due Mrs. Maurice Moore, of Lynchburg, Va., a granddaughter
of Dr. DeCamp, for many facts concerning his career.
PHILIP MAXWELL
Eleventh Surgeon of Fort Dearborn
(1799-1859)
The eleventh and last surgeon of Fort Dearborn was Dr. Philip Maxwell,
who participated in the final abandonment of the fort, December 29, 1836.
Later he became identified with medical affairs in Chicago, where he was a
civil practitioner and for a time served as city physician.
Born in Guilford, Windham County, Vt., April 3, 1799, Dr. Maxwell
studied medicine in New York City with a Dr. Knott, but 'was graduated
from one of the medical universities of his native state. Beginning practice
in Sackett's Harbor, N. Y., he relinquished it when elected a member of the
state legislature.
In 1832 he was commissioned surgeon's mate and was assigned to duty at
Green Bay, Wis. There he remained but a short time before being ordered
to report at Fort Dearborn. Arriving there April 15, 1833, he was a witness
to the Indian treaty of September 26 following.
After leaving Fort Dearborn, Dr. Maxwell was promoted to a surgeoncy,
July 7, 1838, and later served with General Zachary Taylor at Baton Rouge,
La., and in the Seminole war in Florida. While engaged in this service, Dr.
Maxwell resigned his commission and returned to Chicago, where he engaged
in practice until 1855.
During this period he was city physician in 1845, served a term in the state
legislature and was a partner of Dr. Brockholst McVickar. His name is men-
tioned among the attendants at the meetings that resulted in the organization
of the Chicago Medical Society in 1850.
While on duty at Green Bay, Dr. Maxwell became so impressed with the
beauty of the country surrounding Lake Geneva, Wis., that he subsequently
bought land there and built a home, to which he retired in 1855. He died
there November 5, 1859, aged 60 years.
22 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
ALEXANDER WOLCOTT
First Resident Physician of Chicago
(1790-1830)
Indian agent, man of affairs and the first resident physician of Chicago, Dr.
Alexander Wolcott was a dominant figure in the city's early history. Mem-
ber of a family, which throughout its history has maintained a steady prom-
inence in political, commercial and professional life, occupying a position
similar to that of the Adams family in American public life, the physician
carried on the tradition of his race.
He left his imprint upon the city in many ways, notably in the naming of
the principal street in his honor. In later years this thoroughfare, Wolcott
Street, became State Street.
The ancestor of the family in America was Henry Wolcott, who fled from
England about 1628 to escape the persecution of dissenters by Charles I.
Alexander Wolcott, the father of the physician, was a distinguished attorney
in Connecticut, who was nominated Justice of the United States Supreme
Court by President Madison, but the Federalists in the Senate prevented his
confirmation by seven votes.
Alexander Wolcott, Jr., was born in East Windsor, Conn., February 14,
1790, the third of four children of the attorney and Frances Burbank, his first
wife. His education was begun in his native town and was completed at
Yale in the class of 1809.
A near relative, Dr. Christopher Wolcott, was then practicing medicine in
Windsor, and it was doubtless with him that the young man studied for the
next three years. By that time the clouds of war were gathering rapidly and,
following the bent of his ancestors, he offered his services as surgeon's mate
in the army. He received the appointment March 25, 1812, and was assigned
to duty at Fort Columbus, Governor's Island, where he served throughout
the war.
Remaining in army service until April 1, 1817, Dr. Wolcott resigned his
commission and went to Boston with the intention of practicing his profession.
A year later came the tender by President Monroe of appointment as "Indian
Agent to the Lakes," at Chicago. Possibly the slow process of building up
a practice, but more likely the lure of the boundless west caused him to
accept the appointment.
His nomination was confirmed by the Senate April 18, 1818, and the records
of the war department show that he departed at once for his post. Copies of
records of the war department and the Indian bureau of the department of the
interior at Washington, now in possession of the Society of Medical History
of Chicago, show that the histories of Chicago are in error in giving the year
of Dr. Wolcott's arrival as 1820.
Upon his arrival, Dr. Wolcott finished a house left half completed by the
former agent and occupied it for five years. This dwelling was on the north
side of the river, opposite Fort Dearborn, and adjoining the house of John
Kinzie, one of Chicago's earliest white settlers, and later the physician's
father-in-law.
In the year 1818, which marked the admission of Illinois into the Union,
the mighty and seemingly boundless northwest remained largely unexplored.
In 1819 Lewis Cass, territorial governor of Michigan, was directed to ex-
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 23
plore the upper lakes region and find the source of the Mississippi River.
Dr. Wolcott, brought into close personal relations with Governor Cass, was
invited to accompany him as physician of the expedition.
The expedition, with Henry Schoolcraft as mineralogist, set out from
Detroit in May, 1820, but, owing to the large size of their boats and the
shallow water of the upper Mississippi River, it was unable to proceed beyond
a lake then known as Cedar Lake, but to which Mr. Schoolcraft gave the
name of Cass, in honor of the governor.
In 1832 Dr. Douglas Houghton of Detroit accompanied Mr. Schoolcraft on
a second expedition, which was successful in locating the source of the river,
which was found to be 180 miles north of Cass Lake. Doctors Wolcott and
Houghton thus had the honor of connecting the medical profession with the
discovery of the source of the Father of Waters.
August 29, 1821, one of the last great Indian treaties was held at Chicago.
Dr. Wolcott was one of the signers with Governor Cass and the United
States Indian Commissioners. Mr. Schoolcraft, who acted as secretary,
attributed to Dr. Wolcott's advice to Governor Cass the acquirement, for
almost nothing, of millions of acres of Michigan land.
On July 20, 1823, Dr. Wolcott married Miss Ellen Marion Kinzie, eldest
daughter of John and Eleanor Kinzie. Born in December, 1804, she is cele-
brated as the first white child born in Chicago. The same year the garrison
was withdrawn from Fort Dearborn and the fort and property were left in
charge of Dr. Wolcott. Leaving his quarters in the agency house, he and
his young bride took up their residence in one of the buildings inside the
fort, where they remained until the fort was regarrisoned in 182S.
They then returned to the agency house, where they lived until the phy-
sician's death, October 26, 1830. First buried near the fort, in later years
his body was removed to the City Cemetery, now Lincoln Park. In 1865,
following the death and burial of John H. Kinzie, brother-in-law of Dr.
Wolcott, in Graceland Cemetery, the bodies of Dr. Wolcott and his two
children and those of John and Eleanor Kinzie, were removed to the same
plot.
Standing beside the graves of Dr. Wolcott and John Kinzie, the first
settlers of the future city, one wonders what prophecies may have come to
them of the Chicago that was to be. No deeply chiselled shafts, but modest
headstones, mark the spot where lie their dust. To generations yet unborn,
so long as the story of Chicago will be told, their names will be a part.
THOMAS SPENCER
(1793-1857)
To occupy the chair of the principles and practice of medicine, Dr. Thomas
Spencer in 1849 came to Rush Medical College from the Geneva (New York)
Medical College, which he and Dr. Morgan had organized in 1834 at the
request of John C. Spencer, then Secretary of War.
It had been the desire of Dr. Daniel Brainard to strengthen the personnel
of the teaching staff of Rush Medical College and two distinguished acces-
sions in 1849 were Dr. N. S. Davis and Dr. Spencer.
By the smoky light of pine splinters Dr. Spencer had laid the foundation
of an educational equipment that enabled him later to take high rank in
research, teaching and practice^
24 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
He was born in Great Harrington, Massachusetts, October 22, 1793. His
family moved to Lenox, Madison County, New York, in 1804. The hamlet
contained only three houses and adjoined Canastota, a village of the Oneida
tribe of Indians. It was in a log cabin by the blazing fagots that he obtained
his early schooling. While engaged as a surveyor, he undertook the study
of medicine and received a degree from the Medical College of Fairfield,
New York, in 1820.
Cholera having made its first appearance on the western continent in 1832,
the epidemic excited intense interest. At that time Dr. Spencer wrote a mono-
graph on the disease which attracted wide-spread notice. It contained many
valuable contributions to knowledge of the plague and became a classic.
Founder of Geneva Medical College in 1834, Dr. Spencer remained in its
chair of principles and practice of medicine for fifteen years.
It was at the Geneva School that he delivered his celebrated lectures on
"The Atomic Theory of Light and Heat," which, commentators said, placed
him in a class with Liebig. During his incumbency at Geneva, Dr. Spencer
in an interim pursued a course of studies at Paris in 1836, adding to his store
of knowledge, which made him the leading physician in Central New York.
His prestige at one time won for him the presidency of the New York Medical
Association. With the outbreak of the Mexican War, he was appointed
surgeon of the Tenth New York and New Jersey volunteers. In the combat
operations of the organizations he won the praise of the quartermaster gen-
eral. Henry Whiting, for exceptional care of the sick and wounded.
After practicing a short time in Syracuse, Dr. Spencer proceeded to Mil-
waukee to be near Rush Medical College, to which Dr. Brainard had sum-
moned him. During the winter of 1849-50 Dr. Spencer delivered a series of
lectures from the chair of the principles and practice of medicine. When,
on account of ill-health, he retired at the end of the term he was made pro-
fessor emeritus.
He returned to Syracuse, engaging in practice until 1852, when he accepted
a professorship in the Philadelphia College of Medicine. He was identified
with the school until his death, May 30, 1857.
JOSIAH COSMORE GOODHUE
(1794-1847)
Physicians of the early day in Chicago were as devoted to civic activities as
to their profession.
Not only was Dr. Josiah Cosmore Goodhue a leading practitioner of the
pioneer time, but he was a public spirited citizen of diverse interests.
He is particularly remembered as the founder of the public school system
of Chicago.
Son of Dr. Josiah Goodhue, president of Berkshire Medical College, Dr.
Josiah Cosmore Goodhue was born at Putney, Vt., in 1794. He was gradu-
ated from the medical department of Yale University in 1829. He began
practice at St. Thomas, Can., where he remained until his removal to Chi-
cago in the fall of 1832. With Dr. William Bradshaw Egan he served on a
sanitary vigilance committee in 1837. Shortly afterward he became a partner
of Dr. Daniel Brainard, whom he assisted in procuring the charter for Rush
Medical College, which was granted by the general assembly in 1837. In the
act of incorporation Dr. Goodhue is named as trustee.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 25
When Chicago was organized as a city in 1837, the municipality was divided
into five wards. Dr. Goodhue was elected a member of the city council from
the first ward. As such he was the first proponent of a public school system
for the city and it was at his instigation that the enabling ordinance was
drawn by J. Young Scammon.
Dr. Goodhue designed the seal of the corporation of Chicago.
In 1838 Dr. Goodhue assisted Dr. Brainard! in the second capital surgical
operation in Chicago. In the same year Dr. Goodhue bought land and re-
moved to the site of the present city of Rockford, 111. There he aided in
founding the municipality which derived its name from the rocky ford near
which it was located.
In 1846 Dr. Goodhue organized the Rock River Medical Society, of which
he became the first president. The formation of this society antedated that
of the Chicago and Illinois State Medical societies by four years. Dr. Brainard
attended the meeting and became a member of the society.
While making a call one night in 1847 Dr. Goodhue fell into an uncovered
well, and, while still living when rescued, died before the arrival of Dr.
Brainard who had been summoned.
DANIEL D. WAITE
(1795-1869)
President of the Chicago Medical Society in 1859, Dr. Daniel D. Waite was
a mainstay of that organization during a precarious period in its history.
He was born in 1795. He moved from Victory, Cayuga County, New York,
to Illinois in 1840 and settled at Union Ridge, which later was known as the
town of Jefferson. For his land he paid $1.25 an acre. Moving later to St.
Charles, Kane County, Dr. Waite, besides engaging in the practice of medi-
cine, published a newspaper called the St. Charles Patriot. At St. Charles his
wife, Lucy Clapp Waite, died and he moved to Chicago.
On his arrival he found the Chicago Medical Society struggling for exis-
tence. Through his efforts the organization was placed upon a sound basis
and it was Dr. N. S. Davis, who at the fiftieth anniversary of the Chicago
Medical Society, said, "If it were not for Dr. Waite we would not now be
celebrating this semi-centennial, as it was his enthusiasm and persistent
effort that kept the society alive when it must otherwise have ceased to
exist. When the members had no other place to meet they assembld in Dr.
Waite's office."
Dr. Waite was elected president of the Chicago Medical Society in 1859.
He died at Kenwood ten years later, August 13, 1869.
IRA HATCH
(1800-1879)
Dr. Ira Hatch, president of the Chicago Medical Society in 1861-62, was
1>orn on a farm near Alstead, N. H., November 4, 1800. He studied at Dart-
mouth for two years and was graduated from Union College. For a year he
had charge of the academy at Kingston, N. Y. Returning to Alstead, he
began the study of medicine with his brother, Dr. Elisha Hatch. He engaged
in general practice at Fort Ann, N. Y., where he remained for several years.
From Fort Ann Dr. Hatch went to Union Village. N. Y., and to Springfield,
Mass. He arrived in Chicago in 1856. He was elected president of the
Chicago Medical Society for the 1861-62 term.
26
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
DANIEL D. WAITE
IRA HATCH
DAVID RUTTER
EDMUND STOUGHTON KIMBERLY
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 27
Dr. Hatch's first wife, Mrs. Mary Vllas Hatch, whom he married February
8, 1828, died in 1866 and at the age of 70 he married Miss Mary Culver of
Chicago and removed to Warrenville, 111.
Dr. Hatch died October 1, 1879.
DAVID RUTTER
(1800-1865)
One of the founders of the institution which subsequently became the
Northwestern University Medical School, Dr. David Rutter had come to
Chicago in 1849.
He was born at Pine Forge, Pennsylvania, December 23, 1800. His father
and grandfather were iron masters. He studied medicine at the University
of Pennsylvania and received his degree in 1823. In 1824 he married Miss
Isabella Crawford. After her death a decade later, he married Miss Esther
Turner Ryerson.
He practiced his profession in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, for nine
years. Proceeding to Philadelphia, he engaged in practice for a brief period.
He arrived in Chicago in 1849. Ten years later Dr. Rutter, with Doctors
Hosmer A. Johnson, Ralph N. Isham, Edmund Andrews and others,
organized the medical department of Lind University, later known as the
Chicago Medical College and finally as Northwestern University Medical
School. Dr. Rutter was a member of the faculty until his death.
He was a devoted adherent of Abraham Lincoln and when the president
was assassinated he was so deeply affected that he was stricken with apoplexy
and died April 16, 1865.
EDMUND STOUGHTON KIMBERLY
(1803-1874)
Dr. Edmund Stoughton Kimberly was one of Chicago's constructive
pioneers.
Born at Troy, New York, April 7, 1803, his earliest ancestor in America was
Thomas Kimberly, a member of the first colony of New Haven, in 1638. His
sturdy spirit survived in Edmund Kimberly, type of the New Englanders who
helped representatives of other races to make Chicago great.
Edmund Kimberly was graduated from the academy at Lenox, Massa-
chussetts, in 1819, and from Union College, Schenectady, New York in 1822.
He next received a degree from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New
York City, and was commissioned surgeon's mate by Governor Dewitt
Clinton.
Dr. Kimberly married Miss Marie Theresa Ellis, May 16, 1829, and in 1832
they proceeded to Chicago. A physician through all his years in this city,
he was most active in civic affairs and as a useful public servant. In 1833, he
was clerk of the election which decided that the village of Chicago should
be incorporated. On August 10, of that year he was elected one of the board
of trustees which gave Chicago its first civil government. In 1834, he was
authorized to erect a Cholera Hospital.
Members of Dr. Kimberly's business firm, Peter Pruyn and Co., were
among the stockholders of the Chicago Democrat, the first number of which,
November 26, 1833, contained the ordinance which he had introduced at the
meeting of the board of trustees fixing the boundaries of Chicago.
28
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
JOHN TAYLOR TEMPLE
ALEXANDER FISHER
ORREN SMITH
WILLIAM GODFREY DYAS
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 29
Dr. Kimberly in 1837 aided Dr. Daniel Brainard to secure the charter for
Rush Medical College, in which the former was named as a trustee. The
same year under the charter of the city, Dr. Kimberly was elected city health
officer and re-elected until 1841. In 1844, he was a leader in the Peoria State
Convention held to put the public school system of Illinois into effect. Three
years later he championed the movement for township organization in the
state. In 1847, he was elected recorder of deeds for Cook County and in 1849,
clerk of the county.
Dr. Kimberly was a school inspector and in 1850, president of the school
board. In 1860, he removed to Lake County, where he died October 26, 1874.
JOHN TAYLOR TEMPLE
(1803-1877)
A contract obtained through Martin Van Buren to carry mail from Chi-
cago to Fort Howard on Green Bay brought Dr. John Taylor Temple to this
city in 1833. He was a member of Chicago's first board of health and was
a member of the first board of trustees of Rush Medical College, although
later becoming a convert to homeopathy.
Dr. Temple was born on a plantation in King William County, Virginia,
May 5, 1803. It was near this estate that the surrender of Yorktown took
place. He was graduated from Union College at Schenectady, New York,
receiving the degree of A. M. Then for three years he studied medicine in
the office of Dr. George McClellan of Philadelphia.
He received his medical degree from the University of Maryland in 1824
and soon afterward he married the daughter of the Rev. Mr. Stoughton of
Philadelphia. Practicing for a time in that city, he went to Washington,
where he was employed in the patent office. Failing health compelled him
to seek outdoor work and through the influence of Mr. Van Buren, who was
then a member of Andrew Jackson's cabinet, he secured the contract to carry
mail from Chicago to Fort Howard. Later he was also awarded the Chicago-
Ottawa-Peoria route. He arrived in Chicago late in 1833 and on January 1,
1834, he began the transportation of mail, using four-horse coaches in a daily
service.
When Chicago's first board of health was established in 1835, Dr. Temple
became a member. Soon afterward he organized the first Bible society in
the town. In 1836, with Dr. Levi D. Boone, he excavated two sections of
the Illinois and Michigan Canal. In 1837 when the charter for Rush Medical
College was obtained, Dr. Temple was one of the trustees.
He became a convert to homeopathy and in 1842 he moved to Galena and
later to St. Louis. In 1857 he founded the Homeopathic Medical College of
St. Louis, which became the College of Physicians and Surgeons. Of this
institution he was the dean.
He was a member of the American Institute of Homeopathy and of the
Western Institute of Homeopathy, of which he was at one time president.
He died in St. Louis, February 24, 1877.
ALEXANDER FISHER
(1804-1882)
President of the Chicago Medical Society in 1858-59, Dr. Alexander Fisher
was an active practitioner in Chicago for nearly a generation.
30 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
He was born in Lancaster, Mass., August 12, 1804. He received his medical
degree from the College of Physicans and Surgeons at Fairfield, N. Y., in
1834. Beginning in 1835 he practiced medicine in Summit County, Ohio, for
fourteen years. Dr. Fisher suspended professional work for a year on account
of ill health. In 1855 he removed to Chicago, where he continued to practice
until his death. He devoted especial attention to surgery and among his
operations was a ligation of the external iliac artery, a report of which was
published in the American Journal for Medical Science of April, 1856.
After serving a term as president of the Chicago Medical Society in 1858-59,
Dr. Fisher was elected president of the Society of Physicians and Surgeons of
Chicago.
Dr. Fisher was a surgeon in the Union Army during the Civil War. Step-
daughters of Dr. Fisher married Bishop Cheney and Dr. James Nevins Hyde
of Chicago.
Dr Fisher died February 15, 1882.
ORREN SMITH
(1806-1867)
Dr. Orren Smith, president of the Chicago Medical Society in 1860-61, was
born at Marlow, Vermont, July 27, 1806. In 1830 he was graduated from the
medical department of the University of Vermont. After practicing medi-
cine in Montpelier for twenty years, he was appointed professor of obstetrics
and diseases of children in the University of Vermont. He resigned this posi-
tion in 1857 and moved to Chicago, becoming almost immediately a member
of the Chicago Medical Society. Having contributed greatly to the restora-
tion of harmony in that organization, he was elected to the presidency in
1860. He died August 12, 1867.
AVILLIAM GODFREY DYAS
(1807-1895)
Dr. William Godfrey Dyas was closely identified with the professional life
of Chicago from his arrival in the city in 1859 until his tragic death.
Of the fifth generation from Edward Dyas, who fought under Cromwell,
Dr. Dyas was born in Dublin, Ireland, November 4, 1807. He entered Trinity
College in his sixteenth year and from there was transferred to the Royal
College of Surgeons, from which he was graduated in 1830.
He then served in the Cholera Hospital, County Kildare, which was under
the supervision of the government and, after a year's activity there, he was
placed in charge of a fever hospital. In this field he labored for twenty-five
years. On his return to Dublin he was appointed assistant demonstrator of
anatomy in Trinity College.
In 1856 he came to America and became connected with various medical
journals. For a few months, beginning in July, 1859, he was associated with
Dr. Daniel Brainard in editing the Chicago Medical Journal.
Dr. Dyas aided Dr. William H. Byford in 1870 in organizing the Woman's
Medical College, where for five years he occupied the chair of theory and
practice of medicine. He was consultant to the Woman's and Children's,
St. Joseph's and Cook County Hospitals.
In 1873 Dr. Dyas was elected president of the Chicago Medical Society.
He was also a member of the American Medical Association and the Illinois
State Medical Society.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 31
Dr. Henry M. Lyman, describing Dr. Dyas as "a tall, distinguished looking
Irishman, an aristocratic gentleman with a lofty sense of honor," also said,
"He was the most thorough classical scholar among the physicians of Chi-
cago. To the day of his death he passed no evening without reading a few
pages in the original of his favorite Greek and Latin author."
In 1831 Dr. Dyas married Miss Georgiana Keating of Mostrim, County
Longford, Ireland. A son of that marriage, Dr. George K. Dyas, practiced
medicine in Chicago for many years, dying in August, 1895. His son, Dr.
Frederick G. Dyas, in turn became a member of the medical profession in
Chicago. In 1861 the elder Dyas married Miss Miranda Sherwood of Bridge-
port, Conn.
During his last years Dr. Dyas lived in Park Manor, a suburb of Chicago,
where, on February 20, 1895, he was killed by a railroad train as he was
returning to his home.
CHARLES VOLNEY DYER
(1808-1878)
One of the promoters of the celebrated "Underground Railroad," whereby
fugitive slaves were smuggled to freedom, a political power and a medical
practitioner of high standing, Dr. Charles Volney Dyer was one of the most
prominent figures in the early life of Chicago.
He was born in Clarendon, Vt., June 12, 1808, and was graduated from
Middlebury (Vt.) Medical College in 1830. In February, 1831, Dr. Dyer
began practice at Newark, N. J., where he remained four years.
He arrived in Chicago, August 23, 1835. In 1836 he was elected town clerk
and became a member of the Chicago Lyceum, which had been organized in
1834. He married Miss Louisa M. Gifford of Elgin in 1837. They took up
their residence in Fort Dearborn, where their first children were born. The
same year Dr. Dyer was elected Judge of the Probate Court and two years
later he was chosen health officer. In the meantime Dr. Dyer had engaged in
practice with Dr. L. D. Boone and had also become known as the strongest
abolitionist in Chicago.
Chicago's first militia organization, the City Guards, formed in 1840, had
on its roster the name of Dr. Dyer as surgeon. He was elected trustee of
the Garden City Institute in 1853 and in 1858 was an organizer of the Chicago
Charitable Eye and Ear Infirmary. Dr. Dyer was an incorporator of the
North Chicago Street Railway Company in 1859 and in the same year he
helped to organize the Rosehill Cemetery Corporation.
President Lincoln in 1863, appointed Dr. Dyer as Judge of the Mixed Court
for the suppression of the African slave trade. For years the physician had
been active in the movement to aid in the escape of fugitive slaves.
Dr. Dyer was president of the Cook County Drainage Commission in 1869.
He died April 24, 1878.
WILLIAM BRADSHAW EGAN
(1808-1860)
One of the most distinguished figures in the early history of Chicago was
William Bradshaw Egan, physician, churchman, orator, political leader and
financial magnate.
Second cousin of the renowned patriot, Daniel O'Connell, Dr. Egan was
born on the banks of Lake Killarney, September 28, 1808.
32
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
CHARLES VOLNEY DYER
WILLIAM BRADSHAW EGAN
ROBERT C. HAMILL
LEVI DAY BOONE
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 33
At the age of fifteen he began his medical studies under Dr. McGuire, a
surgeon in the Lancashire Collieries. He continued his course in London
and in the Lying-in Hospital of Dublin.
He arrived in Quebec in 1826 and there, in 1827, engaged in teaching.
Later he taught in Montreal and at the grammar school of the University of
Virginia, where he attended medical lectures for two terms. Dr. Egan
pursued a course at Rutgers Medical School, New York City, and in 1830 he
was licensed by the medical board of New Jersey, beginning practice in
Newark and New York.
Dr. Egan married Miss Emmaline W. Mabbatt of New York City in 1832
and the following year the young couple came to Chicago, which had just
been organized as a village. Immediately he and Dr. J. C. Goodhue were
appointed a committee to enforce sanitary regulations, thereby constituting
what might be regarded as Chicago's first board of health.
In 1834 Dr. Egan was one of the organizers of St. James Episcopal Church
and was one of the vestrymen. An annalist of the time describes him as "a
fine specimen of the Irish gentleman, of noble presence, exuberant fancy,
sparkling wit, keen perception and with a fine knowledge of the classics."
It was Dr. Egan who delivered the address when ground was broken for
the Illinois and Michigan Canal and it was he who shared the oratorical
honors with James Lane, territorial governor of Kansas, when the latter
came to Chicago to plead for help to place Kansas in the Union as a free
state. In 1842 Dr. Egan was elected president of an organization of Irish-
Americans that had been formed to liberate Ireland.
He was elected recorder of deeds of Cook County in 1844. In 1853-4
he was a member of the lower house of the general assembly.
During the period of his residence in Chicago he operated successfully in
real estate and it was said of him that in 1834 he bought a tract of land for
$300 which in the boom of 1836 he sold for $60,000.
For several years before the Civil War he dwelt upon a beautiful estate
in the village of Hyde Park, which was known as "Egandale." It fronted
on Cottage Grove Avenue and extended from Forty-seventh street to Fifty-
fifth street.
The gate-keeper's lodge still remained in 1890. Dr. Egan died October
27, 1860.
ROBERT C. HAMILL
(1808-1886)
Flatboatman on the Yazoo and Mississippi rivers in 1833.
Recipient of an honorary degree from Rush Medical College in 1861.
These two incidents indicate the character and ability of Dr. Robert C.
Hamill, for thirty-four years a leading physician in Chicago.
Dr. Hamill was born at Xenia, Ohio, November 26, 1808. His ancestors
were among the earliest settlers of Pennsylvania.
After completing a course at Jefferson College, Cannonsburg, Pa., young
Hamill taught school near Vicksburg, Miss. In 1833 he ran a flat boat on the
Yazoo and Mississippi rivers, carrying produce to New Orleans. Then he be-
came purser and business manager of a Mississippi river steamer. Returning
to Xenia, Dr. Hamill opened a drug store and began the study of medicine. He
attended lectures in the Ohio Medical College of Cincinnati, of which he be-
34 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
came licentiate in 1838. At this time he married Miss Elvira Davisson of
Xenia and removed to Bloomington, Ind., where he practiced medicine until
he came to Chicago in 1852.
In 1861 Rush Medical College conferred upon Dr. Hamill the honorary de-
gree of Doctor of Medicine.
During the Civil War, Dr. Hamill, as a representative of the Sanitary Com-
mission, visited the battle zone to care for sick and wounded soldiers. He
aided in the establishment of the Soldiers' Rest at Chicago, which, after the
war, became the Soldiers' Home, of which he was president for eighteen years.
During his active career in Chicago Dr. Hamill was devoted to the interests
of the various charitable institutions with which he was connected. He was
one of the founders of the Home for Incurables and was visiting physician to
that institution. Dr. Hamill spent several hours of the day he died in attend-
ing charity patients. He was an active member of the staff of the Presby-
terian Hospital.
Dr. Hamill was a member of the American Medical Association, the Illinois
State and Chicago Medical societies, trustee of Rush Medical College and
consulting physician to the Presbyterian Hospital.
Dr. Hamill died from heart failure July 21, 1886. His widow and three
sons, one of whom is Ernest A. Hamill, a banker, survived him.
LEVI DAY BOONE
(1808-1882)
Collateral descendant of Daniel Boone; captain in the Blackhawk War,
first president of the Chicago Medical Society and an early mayor of Chicago,
Dr. Levi Day Boone was born near Lexington, Ky., December 8, 1808. He
was graduated from the medical department of Transylvania University,
Louisville, Ky., in 1829. In the same year he removed to Edwardsville, 111.,
and in 1830 to Hillsboro, 111. He entered the Blackhawk War as a private in
1832 and was discharged as a captain and surgeon. In 1833 Dr. Boone mar-
ried Miss Louisa Smith, daughter of Theophilus Smith, Judge of the Supreme
Court of Illinois.
A year after his arrival in Chicago in 1835, Dr. Boone, in partnership with
Dr. John T. Temple, excavated two sections of the Illinois and Michigan
canal.
In 1839 he became associated in medical practice with Dr. Charles V. Dyer
and in 1845 he entered into a partnership with Dr. Brockholst McVickar. Dr.
Boone was elected city physician in 1849 and held that position for three
years. He was an organizer of the Chicago Medical Society in 1850 and was
elected its first president.
For six years alderman from the second ward, Dr. Boone was elected mayor
of Chicago in 1855.
He was one of the surgeons at Camp Douglas for a period during the Civil
War. Although of southern birth, Dr. Boone was a supporter of the Union
cause and his last professional work was performed on a voluntary trip to
the front to relieve overworked field surgeons. Dr. Boone's youngest son,
S. S. Boone, served throughout the war as lieutenant of a company of the
Nineteenth Infantry. In 1862 failing health made a change of occupation
necessary and Dr. Boone entered the life insurance business.
Dr. Boone was a trustee of the Old University of Chicago and a member of
the old Michigan Avenue Baptist Church. He died January 24, 1882.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 35
ABRAHAM GROESBECK
(1810-1884)
Dr. Abraham Groesbeck, in 1866 president of the Chicago Medical Society,
was born in Albany, N. Y., May 24, 1810. Upon leaving Albany Academy at
the age of sixteen years, he began the study of medicine in the office of Dr.
Jonathan Eights of Albany, where he remained for five years.
After attending Barclay Medical College in New York City, Dr. Groesbeck
was licensed to practice medicine May 27, 1831. He pursued his profession
in Albany for eighteen years and in 1840 the Albany Medical College con-
ferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Medicine.
From Albany Dr. Groesbeck removed to Kenosha, Wis., where he practiced
medicine seven years. Coming to Chicago in 1856, he devoted his attention
largely to obstetrics.
In his last years Dr. Groesbeck suffered almost total blindness, which
caused his retirement from practice four years before his death.
While living in Albany in 1841 Dr. Groesbeck married Miss Mary L. Wil-
liams, wrho with their daughters, Mrs. Augustus Van Buren and Miss Fannie
Groesbeck, survived him. He died November 25, 1884.
BROCKHOL ST McVICKAR
(1810-1883)
Chicago's first Commissioner of Health, one of the founders of the Chicago
Medical Society and of the first City Hospital, Dr. Brockholst McVickar was
active in the professional and public life of this city for nearly a generation.
Dr. McVickar was born in New York City, May 31, 1810. He received his
early education under private tutors and later under his uncle, Professor John
McVickar of Columbia College. He was graduated in medicine from Fair-
field Medical College, New York, in 1831. His first practice was at Trenton,
New Jersey.
He came to Chicago in 1848. Like all other physicians of the city, he
battled hard with the great cholera epidemic of 1849. In 1850 Dr. McVickar,
his partner, Dr. Levi D. Boone, and Dr. N. S. Davis took a leading part in
organizing the Chicago Medical Society.
From 1853 to 1856 Dr. McVickar was city physician. In the cholera
epidemic of 1854, as city physician, he constructed and had charge of the first
City Hospital at Eighteenth and Arnold Streets, from which later was devel-
oped Cook County Hospital.
From June until November 1862, he was surgeon of the Twenty-third Illi-
nois Volunteer Infantry, Colonel James A. Mulligan commanding. When, in
1863, the government commandeered the City Hospital for military purposes,
Dr. McVickar was placed in charge. Later he was also chief medical officer
of the Marine Hospital and of Camp Douglas, a place of internment for Con-
federate prisoners.
In 1868 he was again physician in charge of the Marine Hospital. On July
19, 1876, the City Council of Chicago passed an ordinance creating the office
of Commissioner of Health and vesting authority of the department in that
official. Dr. McVickar was the first commissioner and was appointed July 24,
1876. A few months later he was compelled to resign on account of ill health.
He died at Buffalo, N. Y., October 14, 1883.
36
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
ABRAHAM GROESBECK
BROCKHOLST McVICKAR
ALVAN EDMOND SMALL
DANIEL BRAINARD
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 37
ALVAN EDMOND SMALL
(1811-1886)
Author, teacher and sometime president of Hahnemann Medical College,
Dr. Alvan Edmond Small was born in Wales, Lincoln County, Maine, March
4, 1811. His father, John Small, was for several terms a member of the
legislature of Maine.
The son attended the public schools until he was sixteen years old. He
was then so advanced that he was chosen as principal of a district grammar
schoool. After teaching for a time he took a four years' academic course in
Monmouth, Maine. He thereupon became principal of one of the city schools
in Bath, Maine, serving for two years. In 1831 he began the study of med-
icine under Dr. B. C. Green of Saco, Maine. He studied with him for two
years and completed his education at the medical department of the Univer-
sity of Pennsylvania.
He practiced medicine in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, until 1845,
when, after embracing homeopathy, he moved to Philadelphia, where he re-
mained for eleven years. In 1849 he was appointed to the chair of physiology
in the Homeopathic College of Philadelphia. Later he was transferred to
the chair of the homeopathic institute and practice of medicine.
He came to Chicago in 1856 and when, in 1860, Hahnemann Medical Col-
lege was established he was appointed to the chair of theory and practice
of medicine, which he filled for ten years. When resigning this chair he was
elected president of the college. He was general superintendent of Scam-
mon Hospital, and served as president of the Illinois Homeopathic Medical
Association and the American Institute of Homeopathy.
His published works include "Manual of the Homeopathic Practice," "Dis-
eases of the Nervous System" and monographs on various subjects.
He died December 31, 1886.
DANIEL BRAINARD
(1812-1866)
Founder and head of the first medical college in Chicago, an organizer
of the first general hospital, the city's first health officer and for more than
twenty years recognized as its leading surgeon — such are the outstanding
facts in the career of Daniel Brainard.
The surgeon's interests were not limited to his profession ; for a few
years after his arrival in Chicago he occupied the editorial chair of the
city's first newspaper, the Chicago Democrat. He was known also as a
botanist and geologist and a student of literature.
Dr. Brainard's first prominence as a surgeon came in 1838, when he per-
formed what is believed to have been the second major operation in the
city and one of the first of its kind in the United States. This was the
amputation of a leg of a laborer on the Illinois and Michigan canal, the
amputation being made at the hip-joint.
The laborer, having suffered a fracture of the femur and having had the
leg dressed, walked several miles into the city before union had been com-
pletely effected. The inflammation that followed was so severe that at a
conference of Doctors Brainard, Josiah C. Goodhue, Philip Maxwell and
William B. Egan, an amputation was declared necessary.
38 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
Dr. Brainard urged amputation at the hip-joint, but the other three fav-
ored having it done below the trochanter. The young surgeon removed
the leg at the place designated by his counsellors, but rinding the bone
marrow diseased higher up, he at once amputated at the hip, Dr. Goodhue
performing the important duty of compressing the femoral artery.
The case progressed favorably for a few weeks and the wounds had
nearly healed, when secondary hemorrhage developed and quickly proved
fatal.
Born in the town of Western, Oneida County, New York, May 15, 1812,
the son of Jepthai Brainard, Jr., and Catherine Comstock Brainard, the
future surgeon traced his ancestry in America back to Daniel Brainard,
who was brought to this country when eight years old, and who in 1662
settled at Haddam, Connecticut. Following a common school and academic
education, Dr. Brainard began the study of medicine in 1829 with Dr.
R. S. Sykes of Whitesboro, New York, later entering the office of Dr.
Harold H. Pope, in Rome, New York.
A course of lectures at Fairfield Medical College was followed by two
courses at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, where he received his
medical degree in 1834. He then returned to Whitesboro and spent a year
or more in partnership with Dr. Sykes and in the study of Latin and
French.
He arrived in Chicago in the autumn of 1835 and at once took up the
practice of his profession. In 1837 he obtained a charter for Rush Medical
College, named in honor of Benjamin Rush, a noted physician and a signer
of the Declaration of Independence. In that year Chicago received its
charter as a city and Dr. Brainard became city physician, or health officer.
Dr. Brainard was prevented from opening the medical college by the
financial panic of 1837 and the depression following, and in 1839 he went to
Paris, France, then the center of medical culture, where he spent two years
in study. The influence of the time thus spent is shown in his subsequent
writings and activities.
Rush Medical College was opened in 1843 in two small rooms in Clark
street, where the first class was graduated with Dr. Brainard as professor
of anatomy and surgery. He was professor of surgery and president of
the college up to his death.
A remarkable faculty of Dr. Brainard was his seeming prescience in the
selection of his associates in the early days of Rush Medical College. Many
of the men whom he chose as members of the faculty or whom he persuaded
to lecture before the students were young men whose ability he recognized
and who later achieved national and international reputations. Among
these were Samuel G. Armor, the elder Austin Flint, Nathan S. Davis,
Eclmund Andrews, and James Van Zandt Blaney.
In association with several of his colleagues, Dr. Brainard aided in edit-
ing the Northwestern Medical and Surgical Journal, the first medical jour-
nal published in Chicago, which later became the Chicago Medical Journal.
In 1847 the first general hospital in the city was established, chiefly
through the efforts of Dr. Brainard and his associates. A large warehouse
on the northeast corner of Kinzie and Wolcott (now State) streets, to which
was given the name of Tippecanoe Hall, was used for the hospital. One
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 39
hundred beds were installed and these were well equipped during the two
succeeding years, when "ship-fever" prevailed, chiefly among the immi-
grants. Doctors Brainard, J. V. Z. Blaney and William B. Herrick con-
stituted the medical staff.
The vice-presidency of the American Medical Association was bestowed
upon Dr. Brainard in 1850. In that year he was an organizer of the Chi-
cago Medical Society and the Illinois State Medical Society, becoming
president of the latter organization in 1854. Visiting France again in 1853,
he read two important papers before the Academy of Science and the Society
of Surgery of Paris. At this time he was elected a corresponding member
of the Societe de Chirurgie.
Upon his return to Chicago, Dr. Brainard in 1854 was awarded a prize
by the American Medical Association for his essay on the treatment of
"ununited fractures and certain deformities of the osseous system."
The motto of the essay, which is considered one of the classical medical
articles of America, was in French of the Sixteenth Century from Ambroise
Pare. Liberally translated, it reads :
"And notwithstanding all the pains I have heretofore taken, I have reason
to praise God, in that it hath pleased Him to call me to that branch of
medical practice, commonly called surgery, which can neither be bought
by gold nor by silver, but by industry alone and long experience."
In the cholera epidemic of 1866, in which more than a thousand Chi-
cagoans perished, Dr. Brainard was one of the early victims. In the after-
noon of October 9, he digressed from the subject of his lecture to advise
his class how to guard against cholera, and before he retired that evening
he began an article on the disease, the first page of which is still preserved
in the archives of the college.
He went to bed apparently in perfect health, but towards morning noted
choleric symptoms, which he checked with opiates. He arose as usual the
next morning with no symptoms of sickness until 9 o'clock, when he suf-
fered a second attack. Dr. Ephraim Ingals and another member of the
faculty were called, but by 2 o'clock in the afternoon Dr. Brainard was in
collapse and seven hours later he ceased to breathe. His funeral was from
St. James' Church and his burial in Graceland cemetery.
In 1891 Dr. Nicholas Senn spoke of Dr. Brainard as one of the greatest
surgeons, and certainly the most original, that America had produced.
AUSTIN FLINT
(1812-1886)
It was while serving as professor of the institutes and practice of medicine
at Rush Medical College that Dr. Austin Flint formulated many of the doc-
trines of ethics which, later, were incorporated into the code of the American
Medical Association. He had been summoned to that institution by Dr.
Daniel Brainard in 1844. For one year Dr. Flint was a teacher at Rush.
Then he left for the east and years afterward he became a distinguished figure
in American medical history.
Dr. Flint was born in Petersham, Mass., October 20, 1812. His grand-
father had been a surgeon in the Continental Army.
40
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
AUSTIN FLINT
ERIAL McARTHUR
WILLIAM B. HERRICK
VALENTINE A. BOYER
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 41
After having pursued his academic education at Amherst and Harvard,
Dr. Flint was graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1833. For a time
he practiced in Boston, but in 1836 removed to Buffalo. Eight years later,
for a period of a year, he lectured at Rush Medical College, announcing some
of the canons that subsequently entered into the code of the American
Medical Association.
For ten years, beginning in 1846, Dr. Flint conducted the Buffalo Medical
Journal. In 1847 he was associated with Professors White and Hamilton in
the founding of Buffalo Medical College. Until 1852 he was professor of
the principles and practice of medicine in that institution. From 1852 to
1856 Dr. Flint occupied the chair of the theory and practice of medicine in
the University of Louisville. Then he returned to Buffalo as professor of
pathology arrd clinical medicine.
Moving from Buffalo to New York City in 1859, Dr. Flint entered upon
the practice of his profession. After the lapse of two years he was appointed
physician to Bellevue Hospital and professor of the principles and practice
of medicine in the Bellevue Hospital Medical College. He was also pro-
fessor of pathology and medical practice in the Long Island Hospital College.
Dr. Flint was connected with Bellevue for twenty-five years and with the
Long Island College seven years.
President of the New York Academy of Medicine from 1872 until 1885,
Dr. Flint was a member of the leading American medical, surgical and
scientific societies. He was a delegate to the International Medical Congress
at Philadelphia in 1876 and was president of the American Medical Associa-
tion in 1884.
Dr. Flint was elected to preside over the International Medical Congress
at Washington in 1887. He died, however, March 13, 1886.
ERIAL McARTHUR
(1812-1857)
Dr. Erial McArthur, president of the Chicago Medical Society in 1852, was
an advertiser. An anomaly, BUT
When smallpox ravaged Chicago in 1849, he and other public spirited phy-
sicians battled day and night to stay the dread epidemic. In their efforts to
extinguish the plague, among many other things, they advertised in the
mediums of the day that they would vaccinate without charge any member
of the community. Dr. McArthur made a special study of the disease and
wrote a valuable monograph on it.
Dr. McArthur was born in Bradford, Vt., December 16, 1812. From there
the family moved to Youngstown, Niagara County, New York, where Dr.
McArthur's younger brother, Dr. Alonzo L. McArthur, was born.
The name of Erial McArthur, M. D., first appeared in the Chicago directory
in 1846. Writh Doctors Daniel Brainard, J. V. Z. Blaney, William B. Herrick
and others, he journeyed to Springfield in April, 1850, to assist in the forma-
tion of the Illinois State Medical Society. The next year he was elected vice-
president of the organization.
In 1852 he was elected president of the Chicago Medical Society.
He died October 22, 1857.
42 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
WILLIAM B. HERRICK
(1813-1865)
The first president of the Illinois State Medical Society and twice president
of the Chicago Medical Society, Dr. William B. Herrick was closely identified
with the early history of Rush Medical College.
He was born at Durham, Maine, September 20, 1813. He attended medical
lectures at Bowdoin and Dartmouth colleges and was graduated from the
latter in 1836. The following year he went to Louisville, Ky., where he was
appointed assistant demonstrator of anatomy in Louisville Medical College.
Removing to Hillsboro, 111., in 1839, he entered practice and in 1840 married
Miss Martha J. Seward, a kinswoman of William H. Seward.
He joined the faculty of Rush Medical College in Chicago in 1844, and be-
came lecturer on anatomy at that time. He was appointed professor of
anatomy in 1845.
On the opening of hostilities with Mexico, he was commissioned assistant
surgeon in the First Illinois Infantry and, with General Wool's division, he
was in the engagement at Buena Vista. Later he was placed in charge of
the hospital at Saltillo. He became a victim of exposure and, resigning in
1847, resumed his professional work in Chicago. He remained professor of
anatomy at Rush until 1855, when he was made professor of physiology and
histology. He continued to occupy the latter chair until 1857.
Dr. Herrick, in "the summer of 1850, helped to organize the Illinois State
Medical Society and was elected first president of that body. In the same
year he assisted in the foundation of the Chicago Medical Society, whose
president he was in 1851 and again in 1853.
Disabilities which he contracted in the Mexican war compelled him to
retire in 1857, and return to Maine, where he died December 31, 1865.
VALENTINE A. BOYER
(1814-1890)
Physician, druggist, canal builder, justice of the peace and church trustee —
these occupations denote the activities in Chicago of Dr. Valentine A. Boyer,
for nearly sixty years a resident of the city.
Born in Reading, Pa., January 23, 1814, Dr. Boyer was graduated from the
medical department of the University of Pennsylvania in 1836. He proceeded
to Chicago where he became interested with his father in the construction of
the Illinois and Michigan Canal.
Dr. Boyer established one of the first drug stores in Chicago and continued
that business in connection with his practice until his store was consumed, as
was also his home, in the great Chicago fire of 1871. After the fire until his
retirement in 1880, Dr. Boyer's time was devoted to his practice.
Dr. Boyer was an early justice of the peace and held that office from 1844
to 1852. He was first surveyor of the port of Chicago under President Pierce.
He was also a member of the first board of trustees of the First German
Lutheran Church.
In 1847 Dr. Boyer married Miss Mary Catherine Specht, who survived him
upon his death, May 11, 1890.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 43
JOHN EVANS
(1814-1897)
One of the great citizens of the pioneer west was Dr. John Evans, one of
the founders of:
The City of Evanston,
Northwestern University,
The Methodist Book Concern,
The Northwestern Christian Advocate,
The Chicago Medical Society,
The Illinois State Medical Society,
Chicago's first High School and
The University of Denver, and who was
Territorial Governor of Colorado.
Dr. Evans was born near Waynesville, Ohio, March 9, 1814. His father,
David Evans, a Quaker, was an extensive farmer and prosperous merchant
of Waynesville.
Upon graduating from the Ohio Medical College of Cincinnati in 1838, Dr.
Evans began the practice of medicine at Attica, Ind. His constructive career
was launched when, in 1844, he secured legislation for the establishment of
a hospital for the insane at Indianapolis. He was appointed superintendent
and designed and directed the erection of the buildings which later served
as a model for the asylum built by the state of Illinois.
Dr. Evans established contact with this community when President
Brainard summoned him to the chair of obstetrics in Rush Medical College
in 1845 and it was not long before he had gained high reputation as a teacher
and medical practitioner.
In eleven years his activities became so diverse as to compel him to resign
from his practice and his profession.
In 1850 he helped to organize both the Chicago and Illinois State Medical
Societies.
As a member of the city council Dr. Evans prepared an ordinance pro-
viding for a superintendent of the city public schools and it was largely
through his influence that Chicago's first high school was built.
In 1850 Dr. Evans was one of the editors of the Northwestern Medical and
Surgical Journal, the first medical publication issued in Chicago.
From 1853 to 1855 Dr. Evans devoted his great energies to the foundation
of Northwestern University. He secured for it valuable lands, endowed it
to the extent of $100,000 and secured legislation perpetually relieving it from
taxation. To commemorate his services to the institution the site upon
which the university was erected was named Evanston.
Dr. Evans successively aided in the establishment of Mercy Hospital, the
Methodist Book Concern and the Northwestern Christian Advocate.
Then he built the Chicago and Fort Wayne railroad, now part of the
Pennsylvania system.
Dr. Evans was a member of the convention that nominated Abraham
Lincoln for the presidency and in 1862 the chief executive appointed him
territorial governor of Colorado. During the next thirty-five years Dr.
Evans took a leading part in building railroads and in developing the re-
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
JOHN EVANS
LUCIEN PRENTISS CHENEY
GERHARD CHRISTIAN PAOLI
ALONZO BENJAMIN PALMER
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 45
sources of Colorado. The legislature of Colorado bestowed his name upon
one of the loftiest peaks in the Rockies.
Dr. Evans died at Denver July 3, 1897. A bust of him is in the library of
Northwestern University at Evanston.
LUCIEN PRENTISS CHENEY
(1814-1864)
In later days to be the mentor and friend of Dr. Joseph Presley Ross, some-
time founder of the Presbyterian Hospital, Dr. Lucien Prentiss Cheney came
to Chicago in 1850. During the period of his early practice here he was city
physician and, as such, had charge of the smallpox hospital which was located
at North Avenue and the Lake.
Dr. Cheney was born in Addison County, Vt., August 25, 1814. He was
graduated from Castleton Medical College in 1837 and in the same year mar-
ried Miss Mary Louisa Stone of Bridgeport, Vt. After thirteen years' prac-
tice in Vermont and in New York he came to Chicago and located on the west
side. He followed his profession there until his death.
His practice grew to such an extent that he secured Dr. Joseph Presley
Ross as his assistant. From him Dr. Ross derived counsel and help that was
of great value in his subsequent career.
Dr. Cheney was county physician for two years and in 1862 he was chosen
city physician. Included in his activities was supervision of the smallpox
hospital, remotely located on the sands at North Avenue.
It was upon Dr. Cheney's advice that the city council passed an ordinance
making vaccination compulsory.
Dr. Cheney was one of the founders of the Episcopal Church of the Atone-
ment which later became the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul.
Dr. Cheney died April 28, 1864.
GERHARD CHRISTIAN PAOLI
(1815-1898)
Twice president of the Chicago Medical Society, Dr. Gerhard Christian
Paoli was a pioneer in the medical education of women and a practitioner in
this city for forty-five years.
He was born in Drontheim, Norway, June 23, 1815. After spending six
years in the study of medicine and in hospital practice in Christiania he went
to Stockholm, where he practiced four years.
Arriving in the United States in 1846, he spent six months in Milwaukee
and Madison, Wisconsin. Then he engaged in practice in Springfield, Ohio,
where he was active for several years.
He came to Chicago in 1853. At that time he became a member of the
Illinois State and Chicago Medical societies and the American Medical
Association.
Like Dr. J. V. Z. Blaney, Dr. Paoli was a chemist. For some time both
experimented together in an effort to produce spirits chemically. In this they
were successful. City physician under Mayors Wentworth and Haines, Dr.
Paoli was, after the civil war, examining surgeon for pensions.
He was one of the first to interest himself in the medical education of
women and in 1870 he was appointed professor of materia medica and medical
46
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
DAVID SHEPPARD SMITH
JOSEPH WARREN FREER
NATHAN SMITH DAVIS
WILLIAM HEATH BYFORD
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 47
jurisprudence in the Woman's Hospital Medical College. This chair he held
for seven years. He was twice honored by election to the presidency of the
Chicago Medical Society in 1863 and in 1872 and was twice vice-president of
that organization. He was also president of the Linnean Hospital and a
member of its medical staff. He was the recipient of an honorary degree
from Rush Medical College.
Dr. Paoli was first married in England in 1842. His wife having died
there, he married Mrs. Sarah Magnusson in 1881. He died in Chicago
January 29, 1898.
ALONZO BENJAMIN PALMER
(1815-1887)
One of the organizers of the Chicago Medical Society, a professor at Rush
Medical College and the University of Michigan, Dr. Alonzo Benjamin
Palmer was for several decades a distinguished teacher in Chicago and at
Ann Arbor.
.He was born in Richfield, New York, October 6, 1815. Graduating, from
the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Fairfield, New York, in 1839, he
entered upon the practice of medicine at Tecumseh, Michigan, where he
remained ten years. Early in 1850 he proceeded to Chicago, where he became
one of the organizers of the Chicago Medical Society. He was appointed a
member of the faculty of Rush Medical College and delivered private lectures
to students. In 1852 he was city physician and medical adviser to the health
officer. That year he was delegate from the Chicago Medical Society to the
convention of the American Medical Association in Richmond, Virginia.
In 1854 he moved to Ann Arbor, where he assumed the chairs of materia
medica and therapeutics and diseases of women and children in the University
of Michigan. He was later transferred to the chair of pathology and theory
and practice of medicine, which he held until his death. He served through-
out the civil war as surgeon of the Second Michigan Infantry.
In 1875 he became dean of the faculty of the medical department of the
University of Michigan, which position he occupied, with the exception of
one year, until he died. After he had been associated with the University of
Michigan for thirty years, he was made a Doctor of Laws by that institution.
He died at Ann Arbor, December 23, 1887.
In his memory, his widow, formerly Miss Love M. Root of Pittsfield,
Massachussetts, whom he married in 1867, endowed the Palmer ward of the
hospital of the University of Michigan.
DAVID SHEPPARD SMITH
(1816-1891)
One of the organizers and president of the board of trustees of Hahnemann
Medical College, Dr. David Sheppard Smith throughout his life in Chicago
was a conspicuous advocate of homeopathy.
He was born in Camden, New Jersey, April 28, 1816. After studying in
the office of Dr. Isaac S. Mulford, he attended three courses at Jefferson
Medical College in Philadelphia, graduating in 1836.
He came to Chicago in 1838. In 1843 he became a convert to homeopathy
and later assisted in the organization of Hahnemann Medical College. He
48 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
was elected to the presidency of the board of trustees of that institution.
In recognition of his services to homeopathy Dr. Smith in 1856 was granted
an honorary degree by the Homeopathic Medical College of Cleveland.
In 1857 he was elected general secretary of the American Institute of
Homeopathy and in 1858 was made president of that organization.
In 1836 he married Miss Rebecca Ann Dennis of Salem, New Jersey.
There were four children. He died April 29, 1891.
JOSEPH WARREN FREER
(1816-1877)
The tragic demise of his wife, who died after repeated bleedings, re-
awakened in Joseph Warren Freer a desire to be a physician. Leaving hi?
farm in Illinois, he came to the village of Chicago on a load of wheat and
repairing to Dr. Daniel Brainard he became his pupil. The day came when
Dr. Freer was one of the great surgeons of the west and the president of
the college he had entered as a zealous rustic.
Dr. Freer was born at Fort Ann, New York, August 10, 1816. When he
was seventeen he entered the office of his uncle, Dr. Lemuel C. Paine of
Clyde, New York, and began the study of medicine. However, his family
bought a claim on Fort Creek near Wilmington, Illinois, and he quit medicine
to accompany the pioneers. For nine years he worked on the farm.
In 1844 Joseph Freer married Miss Emmeline Holden, who died two years
later. Convinced that she had been sacrificed to meager medical knowledge,
he left his farm and, under the tutelage of Dr. Brainard, studied at Rush
Medical College. He was graduated in 1848. In 1849 he married Miss
Catherine Gatter of Wurtemberg, Germany. In that year also he was ap-
pointed demonstrator of anatomy in Rush Medical College and in 1855
professor of anatomy. He continued to occupy this chair until 1859. On
the reorganization of the college in that year, he was transferred to the chair
of physiology and microscopic anatomy, which position he held until his
death. He succeeded Dr. J. V. Z. Blaney as president of the college in 1872.
Dr. Freer was a member of the medical staff of Mercy Hospital and of
Cook County Hospital, from the time of its organization until his death. He
spent several summers in Europe, returning each winter to deliver his course
of lectures.
Dr. Freer died April 12, 1877. Two of his sons became physicians, Paul
Caspar Freer, a noted chemist, who died in 1912, and Dr. Otto T. Freer,
laryngologist, of Chicago.
"Dr. Freer was a man of fine character and quick perception," says Dr.
John Edwin Rhodes. "Dignified and undemonstrative, he was a superior
teacher who left his impress upon students as one who knew and had the
faculty of imparting knowledge to others."
NATHAN SMITH DAVIS
(1817-1904)
"Untiring, irrepressible, uncompromising and incorruptible, Nathan Smith
Davis occupied for half a century a shining place in the foremost rank of the
medical profession of the United States."
His pupil, Dr. Henry T. Byford, thus characterized the "Father of the
American Medical Association," who was one of the city's great men. In
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 49
the families of older Chicago his name is a household word and these are
some of the many reasons why :
He founded the institution now known as Mercy Hospital, being for nearly
forty years the senior member of the attending staff.
He helped to establish Northwestern University.
He was one of the organizers of the Chicago Medical College and for more
than forty years was connected with its faculty.
He assisted in the founding of the Illinois State and Chicago Medical
societies; he was president of the former one term and of the latter three
terms.
He led in the formation of the American Medical Association, which at once
made for the advancement of educational and professional standards, and was
president of the organization in 1864 and 1865.
He was pre-eminently a family physician in the old and best sense of the
term.
Dr. Davis was born in Greene, Chenango County, N. Y., January 9, 1817.
He was graduated from the College of Physicians of Western New York at
Fairfield in 1837. His first practice was as partner of Dr. Daniel Chatfield of
Vienna, N. Y. Here in 1838 he married Miss Anna Maria Parker. Moving to
Binghamton, Dr. Davis soon became prominent in Broome County affairs.
From 1843 to 1846 he represented the county medical society in the state
medical organization. In the latter body, in 1843, Dr. Davis offered resolu-
tions calling for a lengthening and grading of the medical course of instruc-
tion. Discussion of the resolutions led to the calling of a national medical
convention in New York in 1846 and this was the beginning of the American
Medical Association. Dr. Davis' activities in behalf of the organization at
this time earned for him the name of "Father of the Association."
Dr. Davis moved to New York City in 1847. At that time he became
teacher of anatomy in the College of Physicians and Surgeons. At Dr. Daniel
Brainard's invitation, Dr. Davis came to Chicago in 1849 to assume the pro-
fessorship of physiology and general pathology in Rush Medical College.
Later Dr. Davis was transferred to the chair of principles and practice of
medicine and clinical medicine. In 1850 he delivered a course of six lectures,
charging a small fee. The proceeds he used to establish a hospital of twelve
beds out of which grew Mercy Hospital. For nearly forty years Dr. Davis
was senior member of the attending staff.
During his career at Rush Medical College Dr. Davis vigorously persisted
in his advocacy of the lengthening and grading of the medical course. In
this he encountered strong opposition from Dr. Brainard. Their differences
led to the secession of Dr. Davis and his friends and to establishment bj the
latter in 1859 of the Chicago Medical College. For more than forty years Dr.
Davis was a member of the faculty of this school and its successor, North-
western University Medical School. In the closing years of his life he was
dean and professor emeritus of the principles and practice of surgery.
Dr. Davis was an organizer of both the Illinois State and Chicago Medical
societies. He was president of the former in 1855 and of the latter for three
terms, 1854-55, 1855-56 and 1857-58.
He was one of the founders of Northwestern University, the Chicago
Academy of. Sciences, the Chicago Historical Society, the Illinois State Mic-
roscopical Society and the Washingtonian Home.
50 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
In 1883, when the Journal of the American Medical Association was
changed from a yearly to a weekly issue, Dr. Davis was selected as its editor.
He held the position for six years.
At other times he was editor of the Chicago Medical Journal (1855-59), the
Northwestern Medical and Surgical Journal, the Eclectic Journal of Educa-
tion and Literary Review and the American Medical Temperance Quarterly.
In 1860 he founded the Chicago Medical Examiner and edited it until it was
merged with the Chicago Medical Journal in 1873.
Among Dr. Davis' published writings were a text book entitled "Lectures
on the Principles and Practice of Medicine," "A History of Medical Education
and Institutions of the United States," and "Clinical Lectures on Various
Important Diseases," edited by his son, Dr. Frank H. Davis. An ardent sup-
porter of temperance, which was one of his favorite topics in writing and
lecturing, he strongly opposed the use of alcoholic liquors in medical treat-
ment.
Dr. Davis was secretary general of the Executive Committee of the Inter-
national Medical Congress held in Washington in 1887. Later he became its
president.
"Dr. Davis' capacity for effort was extraordinary," says his biographer, Dr.
Byford. "His private practice and consultation work were enough to absorb
the energies of an ordinary man ; his college, hospital and medical organiza-
tion work were enough for another; while his editorial duties, his medical
writings and scattered work on temperance and other public reforms would
be considered sufficient to take up the time of still another. Every moment
not utilized in sleep was utilized in work. Such was his devotion to his pro-
fession and so ardent was his desire to accomplish his ideals he could not bear
to think of amusements and vacations.
"Different kinds of work constituted all the change he required. He was
glad to get home at night from the cares of his practice to the peace of his
editorial or other literary work and in the morning he was glad to see his
patients again. The world is changing. This type of man is becoming a
rarity. It is good for us to preserve the records of such lives that we may
compare notes and have a standard for self criticism in these days that are so
different."
Both of Dr. Davis' sons became physicians. The elder, Dr. Frank H. Davis,
showed promise, but died after about ten years of practice. The younger son,
Dr. N. S. Davis, II, was associated with his father in practice and succeeded
him in Northwestern University Medical School.
Dr. Davis died June 16, 1904.
WILLIAM HEATH BYFORD
(1817-1890)
Dr. William Heath Byford, pioneer in the medical education of women, was
almost wholly self-educated. He never attended a school other than a medi-
cal college more than a year altogether, yet he became, not only the foremost
gynecologist of his day in the Middle West, but a remarkably well-informed
man on a large number of subjects. Not only was he a prolific writer, but
also a master of the literature of two foreign tongues.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 51
He was born at Eaton, Ohio, March 20, 1817, the eldest of three children
of Henry T. and Hannah Byford. His father dying- when he was nine years
old, the future physician was obliged to employ himself at such work as he
could find. AVhen fourteen years old, he was apprenticed to a tailor and spent
the ensuing six years in mastering his trade and acquiring such knowledge of
books as was possible.
At the age of eighteen years he determined to become a physician and
chose as his preceptor Dr. Joseph Maddox of Vincennes, Indiana. Not long
after the termination of his apprenticeship he was examined by a commission
and granted a license to practice medicine.
Dr. Byford's professional career began in Owensville, Ind., in 1838. Two
years later he moved to Mount Vernon in the same state, where in 1840 he
married Miss Mary Ann Holland, the daughter of Dr. Hezekiah Holland.
During his stay in this town he studied medicine in the Ohio Medical College,
from which he was graduated in 1845.
After teaching for several years in the Evansville (Ind.) Medical College,
Dr. Byford in 1857 received a call to the chair of obstetrics and diseases of
women in Rush Medical College. Two years later he joined with Dr. N. S.
Davis and others in founding the Chicago Medical College, where for twenty
years he occupied the chair of obstetrics and diseases of women. In 1879 he
was recalled to Rush Medical College to fill the chair of gynecology, which
had been created especially for him.
Throughout his professional life Dr. Byford had been an ardent champion
of medical education for women and he participated in founding the Woman's
Hospital Medical College of Chicago in 1870, later to become the Woman's
Medical College and still later Northwestern University Woman's Medical
School. To this institution he made many liberal donations. He was presi-
dent of the faculty from the time of its founding until his death.
As a worker in medical societies he was also active, as early as 1857 being
elected vice-president of the American Medical Association. In 1876 he was
one of the organizers of the American Gynecological Society and two years
later of the Chicago Gynecological Society. He was also a life member of
the British Gynecological Society. Medical journalism also owes much to
him, for he was editor of the Chicago Medical Journal and later of the
Chicago Medical Journal and Examiner.
Dr. Byford's first publication was a paper on "Caesarean Sections" in 1847.
His later published works included "Chronic Inflammation and Displace-
ments of the Unimpregnated Uterus," "Practice of Medicine and Surgery
Applied to the Diseases and Accidents of Women" and "Treatise on the
Theory and Practice of Obstetrics."
He was one of the first to observe that the contents of pelvic abscesses often
become encysted and undergo subsequent alterations without being dis-
charged ; to advocate laparotomy for the relief of rupture of the uterus in
cases of extra-uterine pregnancy ; to employ ergot for the expulsion of uterine
fibroids, and, in the enucleation of cysts of the broad ligament, to advise the
termination of the operation by stitching the amputated cyst walls to the
edges of the abdominal wound.
Dr. Byford's wife died in 1865. Eight years later he married Miss Lina W.
Flersheim, who, with two sons and three daughters of the first marriage,
survived him. The sons, Dr. William H. Byford, Jr., of Minneapolis, and
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
SAMUEL GLASGOW ARMOR
DE LASKIE MILLER
WILLIAM EDWARD CLARKE
EZRA SLOCUM CARR
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 53
Dr. Henry T. Byford of Chicago, followed in the footsteps of their father;
the daughters were Mrs. Anna Byford Leonard, Mrs. Mary B. Schuyler and
Mrs. Maud B. Van Schaack.
Three days before his death Dr. Byford performed a laparotomy and even
on the last day he went to work as usual. He succumbed to angina pectoris,
May 21, 1890.
SAMUEL GLASGOW ARMOR
(1818-1885)
Among the pioneer teachers of medicine in Chicago stands Dr. Samuel
Glasgow Armor who, in 1846, was a lecturer at Rush Medical College. In
later years he was to become, at Detroit, a partner of Moses Gunn and, in
New York, the successor, as a teacher, to the famous Austin Flint.
Dr. Armor was born in Washington County, Pa., January 20, 1818. He
read medicine in Millersburg, Ohio, and was graduated from the Missouri
Medical College in 1844. While practicing at Rockford, 111., Dr. Armor at-
tracted the attention of Dr. Daniel Brainard and, at the latter's invitation,
delivered a course of lectures on physiology at Rush Medical College. Later,
having previously accepted the chair of physiology and pathology in the
medical department of the University of Iowa, he declined the proffer by
Dr. Brainard of the same position in Rush Medical College.
After leaving the Iowa institution, where he taught for a brief period, Dr.
Armor lectured successively at the University of Cleveland, the Ohio Medical
College and the University of Michigan. In 1856 he married a Miss Holcomb
of Dayton, Ohio. While living in Detroit he became the partner of Dr. Moses
Gunn.
In 1866, at the end of five years, he accepted the chair of therapeutics,
materia medica and general pathology in the Medical College of Long Island
Hospital. There Dr. Armor succeeded Professor Austin Flint as professor of
practice and clinical medicine. He retained this position until his death in
1885.
DE LASKIE MILLER
(1818-1903)
President of the Chicago Medical Society, for thirty years professor of
obstetrics and diseases of women and children at Rush Medical College and
sometime president of the board of trustees of that institution were some of
the positions held by Dr. De Laskie Miller.
He was born in Niagara county, New York, May 29, 1818. He was grad-
uated from Geneva Medical College in 1842 and his first practice was at
Lockport, New York. Later he moved to Flint, Michigan, where he remained
until the autumn of 1852. At that time he came to Chicago.
In the cholera epidemic of 1854 he was instrumental in the erection of the
first city hospital and was appointed physician and surgeon in charge. In
1859 he accepted the chair of obstetrics and diseases of women and children
in Rush Medical College. This he retained for thirty years.
In 1881 he was a delegate to the seventh International Medical Congress at
London and in 1887 he was president of the obstetrical section of that body
when its convention was held in Washington, D. C.
54 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
Dr. Miller was elected president of the board of trustees of Rush Medical
College in 1889. He was obstetrician to St. Luke's, Cook County, Presby-
terian and Michael Reese hospitals and consulting physician to the Woman's
Hospital, The Home for the Friendless and the Home for Incurables.
He was a member of the national and local medical societies and in 1856 he
was president of the Chicago Medical Society. He was president of the
Chicago Gynecological Society in 1881.
He obtained the highest honors in the Masonic fraternity, having received
the Knight's Templar degree of the York rite and the thirty-third degree of
the supreme council of the Scottish rite.
He died July 9, 1903.
WILLIAM EDWARD CLARKE
(1819-1898)
That he was the first to discover the value of ether as an anaesthetic is the
claim made for Dr. William Edward Clarke, who was president of the
Chicago Medical Society, 1875-76. It is said that Dr. Clarke administered
ether for the extraction of a tooth in January, 1842. This was two months
before Dr. Crawford Long of Georgia, and almost three years before Dr.
Horace Wells of Hartford, Conn., made their first announcements as to the
use of ether as an anaesthetic.
Dr. Clarke was born at Lebanon, Conn., February 22, 1819. Until his
fourteenth year his education was almost wholly under the supervision of
his mother, who was a highly cultivated woman of decided Christian char-
acter. She was a descendant of Jonathan Edwards, the noted preacher and
president of Princeton College. He was graduated from the Medical College
of the University of Vermont in 1845, having three years previously made
his discovery as to the anaesthetic value of ether.
Dr. Clarke practiced medicine at Rochester, N. Y., two years before his
removal to Marshall, Michigan, in 1847. In the latter community he pur-
sued his profession until the outbreak of the Civil War, when, as surgeon of
the Fourth Michigan Infantry, he entered the conflict, participating in the
Peninsular campaign under General McClellan. At the request of his cousin,
Colonel N. C. Gilbert, of the Nineteenth Michigan Infantry, he was trans-
ferred to that regiment.
In 1863 he was placed in charge of Carver General Hospital in Washington,
D. C., where he remained until the close of the war. Dr. Clarke then pro-
ceeded to Chicago, where, for more than thirty years, he was engaged in prac-
tice. He was for many years a member of the consulting staff of the Mary
Thompson and Presbyterian hospitals. He was president of the Chicago
Medical Society in 1875. Dr. Clarke was for twenty-seven years a deacon of
the First Congregational Church.
In 1849 Dr. Clarke married Miss Harriet Hale of Marshall, Mich., who died
in 1864. In 1865 he married Miss Mary L. Reed of Lake Forest. There were
two children of the latter marriage, William E. Clarke, Jr., and Miss Grace
Clarke, who was married to Glenn E. Plumb.
Dr. Clarke died at River Forest March 22, 1898.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 55
EZRA SLOCUM CARR
(1819-1894)
For three years professor of chemistry at Rush Medical College, Dr. Ezra
Slocum Carr left his impress upon medical life in Chicago.
He was born in Stephenstown, N. Y., March 19, 1819, and was graduated
from Castleton (Vt.) Medical College in 1842. For twelve years he was pro-
fessor of chemistry and pharmacy in that institution. He held the same posi-
tion in the Philadelphia Medical College, alternating between the two schools.
He received honorary degrees from Williams and Middlebury colleges and
was acting professor of natural sciences in the latter in 1853-54.
In 1854 Dr. Carr was appointed professor of chemistry and pharmacy in
the Albany Medical College. He was also chemist of the State Agricultural
Society of New York.
As professor of chemistry Dr. Carr went to the University of Wisconsin in
1856. While at the university he was appointed commissioner of the state
geological survey. He organized the survey and enriched the university by
making a complete collection of the soil and minerals of the state. After nine
years' service in Wisconsin Dr. Carr came to Rush Medical College in 1865 as
professor of chemistry. He resigned in 1868 and removed to California. In
1869 he was appointed professor of agriculture, chemistry and horticulture at
the University of California and six years later he was elected superintendent
of public instruction at the University of California.
Dr. Carr was a member of the American Association for the Advancement
of Science from the time of its organization and was a frequent contributor
to medical and educational journals. He was a friend of John Muir, the
famous naturalist of California.
Dr. Carr died on his estate near Pasadena, November 27, 1894.
GEORGE ELIAS SHIPMAN
(1820-1893)
In an obituary written by one of his brother physicians, Dr. George E.
Shipman was designated as "one of the veteran, valiant knights of home-
opathy and a defender of the faith when to be a follower of Hahnemann im-
plied persecution and misrepresentation," and another confrere wrote that
"he was, without doubt, the ablest defender and scholar the cause of home-
opathy ever had in the West." This reputation followed him to the day of
his death.
George E. Shipman was born in New York City, March 4, 1820. His
father was a prosperous Wall Street broker and his mother a sister of Dr.
Edward Payson of Portland, Maine, a noted divine of that period.
He first attended Middlebury College, but in 1839 was graduated from the
University of New York, studying medicine under Prof. Alfred C. Post. The
family physician of the Shipman household at that time was Dr. F. Vanden-
burg, who captured the young student for the cause of homeopathy. There
were few books treating of this new school of medicine and, as they were in
the German language, he immediately applied himself to the mastery of that
tongue.
In 1845 he married Miss Fannie E. Boardman of Connecticut and brought
his bride to Andover, Illinois. The doors, windows and blinds for their new
home were sent from New York by way of New Orleans up the Mississippi
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
GEORGE ELIAS SHIPMAN
JAMES VAN ZANDT BLANEY
JOHN E. McGIRR
CHARLES HARVEY QUINLAN
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 57
and this frame cottage, with its coat of paint, was such a contrast to its log-
house neighbors, that it was derisively called "Shipman Palace."
After enduring the hardships of pioneer life for more than a year, he came,
in the fall of 1846, to Chicago, living for a number of years on the north-
west corner of Washington and La Salle streets. Here he devoted himself
to his profession, serving the cause as editor and professor, as well as prac-
ticing physician.
When, in 1855, Dr. D. S. Smith, through the influence of friends, secured
a charter for Hahnemann Medical College, Dr. Shipman was chosen one of
the trustees and was also elected to fill the chair of materia medica and
therapeutics. He was editor of the Northwestern Journal of Homeopathia
in 1848-52, of the American Journal of Materia Medica in 1860 and of the
United States Medical and Surgical Journal in 1865-69.
His translations were Granvogl's "Text Book of Homeopathy" and the
"Law of Similarity" from the German, Panelli's "Typhoid Fever" from the
Italian, and Parrott's "Urine of the Newborn" from the French.
But the greatest achievement of Dr. Shipman's life was the founding of
a home for abandoned infants, known as the Chicago Foundlings' Home.
For several years he was family physician to Detective Pinkerton of Civil
War fame, and, one night, was called to attend a half-frozen baby that his
men had found along the river. On inquiring where the baby could be cared
for, he was told that there was no refuge for such in the city, and that the
coroner held an inquest on one such outcast each day of the year, on an
average. The crying need of a home for these waifs forced itself upon him
and, failing to interest any of his wealthy patients in the project, he felt
the task was his, and bravely set about it, notwithstanding his lack of capital
for such an undertaking. With $177.38 in hand, he opened the home January
30, 1871, in half of an old frame house on Green Street, near Madison, be-
lieving that the Lord would provide for it. In this belief he was not dis-
appointed, for the institution now occupies an eighty-room brick building,
with no encumbrance, and shelters and cares for a large family each year.
For the first nine years of the work, only infants were admitted, but Dr.
Shipman, discovering his mistake, began to insist on the mother's coming
in with the child. He also admitted the homeless, penniless, pregnant girls,
and, in the fifty-one years of its existence, the home has cared for 7,928
adults and 11,163 infants. Of this latter number 2,165 have been placed in
homes of adoption.
On December 12, 1892, Dr. Shipman was prostrated by an attack of hemi-
plegia, from which he never recovered, passing away on January 19, 1893,
leaving a wife and eight children.
JAMES VAN ZANDT BLANEY
(1820-1874)
On behalf of Dr. James Van Zandt Blaney it is claimed that he discovered
and demonstrated the value of chloroform independently of Sir James Y.
Simpson of Edinburgh.
The experiments, it is said, were conducted concurrently, each scientist
being ignorant of the activities of the other. The findings of Dr. Blaney
were announced shortly after those of Sir James Y. Simpson's were made
public.
58 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
Dr. Blaney was born at Newcastle, Del., May 1, 1820. He was gradu-
ated from Princeton College in 1836 and from the Medical Department of
the University of Pennsylvania in 1842. In the fall of 1842 he came to
Chicago and began the practice of medicine.
Dr. Blaney joined Dr. Daniel Brainard when the latter founded Rush
Medical College in 1843. He occupied three chairs in that institution, chem-
istry, pharmacy and materia medica. He was the first man in Chicago to
devote his attention to chemistry. He later acquired a reputation as an
expert chemist and medico-legal expert in cases of poisoning.
While affiliated with Rush Medical College in its early days, Dr. Blaney:
Founded and edited the Northwestern Medical and Surgical Journal.
Helped to organize the board of education of which, for years, he was
a member.
Formed an expedition for geological exploration in the Lake Superior
region.
Organized another expedition to explore the coal fields of Illinois.
Aided in the organization of the Chicago Medical and Illinois State
Medical societies, being president of the latter in 1870.
Demonstrated the value of chloroform as an anaesthetic.
Held, while at Rush Medical College, the chair of chemistry in North-
western University.
Invented synthetic fruit flavors which later came into general use at
soda fountains.
At the outbreak of the Civil War he was appointed surgeon of volunteers
with the rank of major. He was designated medical director and inspector of
hospitals, continuing as such until the end of the war. Dr. Blaney was
mustered out of service with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
He resumed his activities at Rush Medical College and upon the death of
Dr. Brainard in 1866 he was elected president of the school. Failing health
compelled him to resign in 1871. He died December 11, 1874.
Dr. Blaney married Miss -Clarissa Butler, niece of General Benjamin F.
Butler, July 8, 1847.
JOHN E. McGIRR
(1820-1870)
Dr. John E. McGirr was one of the most scholarly men in the medical
profession of his time in Chicago. His experiments in the inoculation of
measles, with the hope of producing an immunity through a mild attack as
had been done in smallpox, were the first recorded efforts to study in Chicago
one of the infectious diseases by experimental methods.
He was a son of Dr. Patrick McGirr, who was born in Ireland in 1787 and
educated in Dublin, London and Edinburgh, emigrated as a young man to
America and settled at Youngstown, Pa., where he practiced medicine until
1847, when he came to Chicago. Dr. Patrick McGirr was a splendid example
of the cultured physician of the old school.
Dr. John E. McGirr was born in Youngstown, Pa., in 1820. In 1840 he
was graduated from St. Mary's College, Emmittsburgh, Pa. In 1846 he
studied medicine in the University of Pennsylvania, and a year later was
graduated from Rush Medical College, Chicago. A few months after his
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 59
graduation he published a very good article on the new use of ether in mid-
wifery, and in the following year other creditable papers on obstetrical topics.
In 1851 he reported the results of experiments in the inoculation of measles,
which were probably the earliest efforts to apply experimental methods to
the study of infectious diseases in Chicago. As early as 1849 he was professor
of anatomy, physiology, hygiene, chemistry and botany in the University of
St. Mary's of the Lake. He also delivered a series of lectures on physiology
and hygiene for the students in the Mechanics' Institute.
Besides his medical work, he also studied law, being admitted to the bar
in 1852, and to the United States Circuit and District courts in 1854. He was
a member of a committee whose favorable report in 1852 led to the formation
of a high school in Chicago. He wrote a life of the Rt. Rev. William Quarter,
the first Catholic Bishop of Chicago, who died in 1848.
Dr. McGirr was one of the founders of Mercy Hospital. His sister, Sister
Mary Vincent McGirr, was the first superior of Mercy Hospital.
During the epidemic of cholera in 1854, he contracted the disease, and
because of subsequent ill-health he returned to Pennsylvania and lived on a
farm for five years.
At the beginning of the civil war he entered the Union Army as surgeon.
He served during the war, occupying important positions in the hospitals and
was given the honor of brevet major. At the end of the war he returned to
Pittsburgh, but the exactions of a large practice soon undermined his health
and he died October 23, 1870.
CHARLES HARVEY QUINLAN
(1821-1897)
The distinction of having been the first to administer an anaesthetic in
Chicago — in fact, west of the Alleghanies — belongs to Dr. Charles Harvey
Quinlan, one of the city's earliest dentists and later a medical practitioner.
This momentous event in Chicago's medical history took place in 1846,
shortly after the arrival of Dr. Quinlan in the city. The discovery of the
formula of sulphuric ether (then known as letheon) by Dr. Wells in Boston,
with full instructions as to its manufacture and use, had been sent to Dr.
Charles W. Harvey, a practicing dentist in Buffalo, and an uncle of Dr.
Quinlan. Dr. Harvey in turn transmitted the formula to his nephew.
A practical test was given at Rush Medical College in an amputation of a
finger performed by Dr. Daniel Brainard, head of and professor of surgery
in the college, and Dr. Quinlan was invited by the faculty to administer the
anaesthetic. This he did with most satisfactory results. The demonstration
was given before a crowded clinic, and the press of Chicago was profuse in
the number and quality of its notices.
Shortly afterward chloroform was discovered and the formula for its
distillation was procured by Dr. Quinlan. He and Dr. J. V. Z. Blaney
(almost at the same time and independently of each other) were the first
to distill this anaesthetic in Chicago.
Dr. Quinlan, the second son of John D. and Elizabeth Harvey Quinlan, was
born February 19, 1821, in Albany, N. Y. Following his education in the
public schools of his native city and at Albany Academy, he entered the office
60
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
MOSES GUNN
JOHN REID
HOSMER ALLEN JOHNSON
EPHRAIM INGALS
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 61
of his uncle, Dr. Harvey, in Buffalo, as a dental student in 1842. Four years
were spent in acquiring a knowledge of dentistry.
In September, 1846, Dr. Quinlan married Miss Ruth Efner of Buffalo and
removed to Chicago, where he began the practice of dentistry. He continued
in practice until 1865, when he received a medical degree from Rush Medical
College. In 1848 he was joined by a brother, Dr. John D. Quinlan, who was
associated with him until he changed from dentistry to medicine.
In 1859 Dr. Charles H. Quinlan moved to Lake Forest, building the first
residence in the north shore suburb, where he was active in the establish-
ment of Lake Forest University. From 1865 Dr. Quinlan practiced medicine
in Lake Forest until his removal to Evanston in 1875. He then virtually
retired from practice, except for occasional consultations.
Dr. Quinlan died at his Evanston home December 6, 1897. A son, William
\V. Quinlan, succeeded him as a member of the medical profession.
MOSES GUNN
(1822-1887)
Teacher at the University of Michigan, successor of Dr. Daniel Brainard
as professor of surgery in Rush Medical College, surgeon in the Union army,
Dr. Moses Gunn was a brilliant figure in the professional and social circles of
Chicago.
"He was thoroughly equipped as a surgeon, quick and accurate in diagnosis,
rarely made a mistake and was a rapid and elegant operator," say the chron-
iclers. "He was a fine lecturer, fluent and to the point and spoke in language
always correct. He was tall and erect, a striking figure in the amphitheater,
as he was everywhere. Throughout his career he was thought by some to be
guilty of marked fastidiousness, if not a harmless vanity — criticism he could
hardly escape, as he was given to the most tasteful, if not striking costumes,
especially on horseback. He always appeared with his long hair wrought
into ample ringlets that hung immaculate about his neck. But to those near-
est him he was a man of the most serious purposes and perfectly genuine. He
had fixed for himself a high standard and his respect for himself and his work
was too great to allow him ever to fall below it. He carried himself through
his twenty years of work in Rush Medical College on the exalted plane on
which he began. He was different from Professor Brainard and did not
attempt to dominate the faculty ; but no one could say he was a less useful
power in the influence and councils of the college."
Dr. Gunn was born at East Bloomfield, N. Y., April 20, 1822. He was
graduated from Geneva Medical College in 1846. The same year he began
practice at Ann Arbor, Mich., and there instituted a course of lectures on
anatomy, the first of their kind in the state.
Upon the organization of the department of medicine of the University of
Michigan, Dr. Gunn was elected professor of anatomy and surgery and later
professor of surgery. In 1853 he removed to Detroit for practice, lecturing
at the university twice a week, adding to his work in 1857 the co-editorship of
the Medical Independent, a Detroit monthly medical journal, merging in
1858 with the Peninsular Medical Journal under the name of the Peninsular
and Independent Medical Journal.
62 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
In the Civil war he served as a surgeon under General McClellan in the
Peninsular campaign, resigning because of dissatisfaction with his superiors
in the medical corps. He was a vigorous supporter, however, of "Little Mac."
The last class to which Dr. Gunn lectured at Ann Arbor in 1866-67 numbered
525, the largest medical class in the country. In the spring of 1867, at the
invitation of the faculty and trustees of Rush Medical College, he accepted
the chair of surgery made vacant by the death of Dr. Daniel Brainard. This
professorship Dr. Gunn held until his death twenty years later.
"Dr. Gunn was not only a great surgeon and a great teacher," writes Dr.
Arthur Dean Bevan, "but he was also an original thinker and a man who con-
tributed to the development of surgical knowledge. One of his greatest con-
tributions was the result of his research work in dislocations. Before the dis-
covery of anesthesia surgeons in general believed that the most important factor
in preventing the reduction of dislocations was that of muscular contraction,
the spasmodic contraction of the muscles holding the bone firmly in its mis-
placed position. After the introduction of anesthesia Gunn found to his sur-
prise that the relaxation of the muscles obtained in complete ether anesthesia
did not eliminate to any great extent the difficulties of reducing dislocations.
He, therefore, experimented on some cadavers, removed the muscles, leaving
the bones and articulations, and then produced on these cadavers dislocations
of the shoulder and hip and studied the cases carefully to determine the factors
making reduction by manipulation difficult. He soon found that the factor
preventing reduction was mainly the untorn portion of the capsular ligament
which became tense as the bones assumed the dislocated position.
"He worked out the following general principles in regard to dislocations
which have stood the test of time and proven to be absolutely correct: First,
that the main factor preventing reduction of dislocations was the untorn por-
tion of the capsular ligament which became tense. Second, in order to reduce
a dislocation one must relax the untorn portion of the capsular ligament. This
was done by placing the limb in the position which it occupied at the moment
of escape and reducing the dislocation by reversing the force which produced
it. Gunn's publication of his researches were made in a local Western medical
journal and were not widely read. His work preceded that of Bigelow of Bos-
ton by fourteen years, and covers quite as fully and quite as accurately the
work later done by Bigelow. Gunn's contemporaries recognize the fact that
the credit for this work belonged to him. Hamilton, in his great work on
'Fractures and Dislocations,' gives Gunn credit for this early work."
Dr. Gunn was a great teacher, and he trained more surgeons than any surgi-
cal teacher in all time in the Mississippi Valley. It is only necessary to give
the names of a few of his pupils to make clear his right to the title of a great
master in surgery. He trained such men as Charles T. Parkes, John B. Mur-
phy, Lewis L. McArthur, Malcolm L. Harris, Arthur Dean Bevan, Albert J.
Ochsner and a host of others, who have carried on the torch which Gunn
placed in their hands.
In 1856 Geneva Medical College conferred upon him her honorary A.M. and
in 1877 the University of Chicago her LL. D. Dr. Gunn was a member of the
American Medical Association, the Illinois State and Chicago Medical socie-
ties, and surgeon to the Presbyterian, St. Joseph's and Cook County hospitals.
In 1848 he married Miss Jane Augusta Terry, who, with three of their four
children, survived him. Dr. Gunn died in Chicago, November 4, 1887, after a
long illness.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 63
JOHN REID
(1822-1903)
President of the Chicago Medical Society in 1871-1872, Dr. John Reid had
been a war-time practitioner in Chicago and later a health officer.
He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, June 16, 1822. He accompanied his
family to Toronto in 1830. In 1838, Dr. Reid, with his family, moved to
Rochester, New York. In 1848 he was graduated from Jefferson Medical
College, Philadelphia. There he married Miss Elizabeth Fenner of Canter-
bury, England, and engaged in practice in Rochester, where Mrs. Reid died
in 1856. Three years later he married Miss Jane Brewster of Rochester and
moved to Chicago in 1861. Here he became a general practitioner. During
the year of the great fire he was appointed health officer and at the same time
he was elected president of the Chicago Medical Society.
Dr. Reid was connected with the health department until 1875, when the
failing health of his wife compelled him to return with her to Rochester.
After the death of his wife in that year, Dr. Reid retired from practice and
finally died while on a visit to London, May 14, 1903.
HOSMER ALLEN JOHNSON
(1822-1891)
Dr. Hosmer A. Johnson was the first interne at Mercy Hospital, and the
first president of the Chicago Medical College.
He was born at Wales, near Buffalo, N. Y., October 22, 1822. He prepared
for college at the Academy of Romeo, Michigan, and was graduated from the
University of Michigan in 1849. From this institution he received at various
times the degrees of A. B., A. M., and LL. D.
Moving to Chicago in 1849, he studied medicine with Dr. William B. Her-
rick, with whom he later was associated in practice. In 1852, he was grad-
uated from Rush Medical College and became the first interne at Mercy
Hospital. From 1853 to 1858, he was a member of the faculty of Rush Medi-
cal College, serving successively as lecturer on physiology, professor of
materia medica, therapeutics and medical jurisprudence, and general pathol-
ogy. In 1859 he was one of the founders of the Chicago Medical College and
he became the first president of its faculty. He retained his connection with
the institution until the time of his death.
He held at different times the chairs of materia medica and therapeutics,
physiology and histology, general pathology and pathological anatomy, clini-
cal medicine and principles and practice of medicine and clinical medicine.
During the last nine years he was not in active service, but retained his con-
nection with the college. as professor emeritus.
Commissioned major by Governor Richard Yates (the elder), he was as-
signed during the civil war to the board of examining surgeons, of which he
became president. After the great Chicago fire, Dr. Johnson was one of the
managers of the Relief and Aid Society, which distributed millions of dollars
among the sufferers.
He was an early member of the American Medical Association and of the
Illinois State and Chicago Medical societies. He was also a member of the
Chicago Academy of Sciences, the Chicago Historical Society and the Astro-
nomical and Microscopical societies.
64 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
He married Miss Margaret Seward, a relative of William H. Seward of
New York. A son, Dr. Frank S. Johnson, who died in April, 1922, was for
many years closely identified with the Northwestern University Medical
School. Dr. Johnson died February 26, 1891.
Of Dr. Johnson, Dr. Frank T. Andrews has written: "Hosmer A. Johnson
was a man of strong will and great brain power. These two factors were in
evidence at every crisis in his life.
"When, at the age of twenty-one, he was thrown upon his own resources,
he determined not only to make a living but to acquire a higher education.
"His success was so pronounced that within a few years he was one of the
greatest teachers and lecturers among American physicians. Simplicity,
precision and definiteness characterized his speech and writings.
"The prompt recognition of his merit by the medical profession gave him
opportunities to show his value as an organizer and executive, while the
rapid growth of his private practice evidenced a just appreciation of his
professional skill."
EPHRAIM INGALS
(1823-1900)
Zeal for education was characteristic of Dr. Ephraim Ingals.
When a boy, by the hardest toil, he earned money enough to go to a
primary school.
As a physician, his practice was sometimes so pressing that often he was
forced to deliver his morning lecture at Rush Medical College without having
slept the night before. Eager students could not be slighted.
Ardent advocacy of better general education for intending medical students
prompted him in his last years to give generously to the fund that made
effective the affiliation of Rush Medical College writh the University of
Chicago.
Dr. Ingals was the youngest of nine children and was born in Abington,
Conn., May 26, 1823. He was a descendant of Edmund Ingals who, coming
from England with Governor Endicott's colony (landing at Salem, Mass., in
1628), was the first settler of Lynn, Mass. Left an orphan at the age of
eight, he had to work for his support and in 1837 he went to Lee County,
Illinois. There a branch of the Ingals family had settled on a farm. For
years he labored in the fields, gaining enough money to go to school at
intervals.
From 1845 to 1847 he attended Rush Medical College and was graduated
in February, 18*47. He practiced in Lee Center, 111., for ten years and then
moved to Chicago, where he became successful as a general practitioner. He
was associated with Dr. Daniel Brainard and Dr. DeLaskie Miller in the
conduct of the Northwestern Medical and Surgical Journal and succeeded
Dr. John H. Ranch as professor of materia medica and therapeutics at Rush
Medical College in 1859. Dr. Ingals remained at the college until 1871,
when he resigned with the title of emeritus professor.
Dr. Ingals strongly advocated the affiliation of Rush Medical College with
the University of Chicago and gave $25,000 to the college when the coalition
became effective. He also donated $10,000 for the construction of a labora-
tory for the medical department of Northwestern University.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 65
Dr. Ingals was active in the affairs of the Chicago Medical Society, of
which he served four terms as president: 1876-77, 1877-78, 1878-79 and
1881-82. He was also president of the Illinois State Medical Society.
On April 30, 1851, he married Miss Melissa Church. There were four
daughters, Mary, Alice, Elizabeth and Lucy. The last named became the
wife of Dr. E. Fletcher Ingals.
Dr. Ingals died December 18, 1900.
EDMUND ANDREWS
(1824-1904)
One of the founders of Northwestern University Medical School, for nearly
half a century chief surgeon at Mercy Hospital, sometime president of the
Chicago Medical Society, profound student and writer, Dr. Edmund Andrews
was for fifty years a towering figure in the professional activities of the west.
He was born at Putney, Vt, April 22, 1824. His father, Rev. Jonathan
Andrews, was the Congregational minister at Putney and his grandfather,
Jonathan Andrews, was a minute man in the Revolutionary War. After
having lived in New York state for several years, the family moved to
Armada, Mich., where Edmund Andrews was prepared for college.
Dr. Andrews matriculated in the college of arts at the University of Michi-
gan and, while in his senior year, he, as a member of Alpha Delta Phi, led a
successful fight for the retention of fraternities in colleges. Upon his gradua-
tion from the academic department in 1849 Dr. Andrews was elected president
of his class for life.
After leaving the college of arts at Michigan, Dr. Andrews became a pupil
of Dr. Zina Pitcher, a surgeon of the War of 1812, teaching school to pay his
expenses. He received his medical degree from the University of Michigan
in 1852, at the same time receiving the degree of Master of Arts upon the
recommendation of the academic department.
For three years Dr. Andrews was demonstrator of anatomy in the medical
school of the university and while there he edited the Peninsular Journal of
Medicine and Allied Sciences. He wielded a trenchant pen and was par-
ticularly vigorous in his exposure of quackery in all its forms. His first
editorial was entitled "The Physiology of Table Tipping." Dr. Moses Gunn
was a co-worker of Dr. Andrews in the journalistic enterprise.
Dr. Andrews left the University of Michigan in 1855 to become demonstra-
tor of anatomy in Rush Medical College. A year later he resigned and de-
voted himself to private practice.
In 1859 Dr. Andrews joined Dr. Hosmer Johnson, N. S. Davis, W. H.
Byford, Ralph N. Isham and David Rutter in establishing the medical de-
partment of Lind University which eventually became the medical department
of Northwestern University. For forty-six years Dr. Andrews was professor
of surgery in this institution and for almost a like period he was chief surgeon
at Mercy Hospital.
At the beginning of the Civil War Dr. Andrews was appointed by Gov-
ernor Yates surgeon at Camp Douglas and, on April 3, 1862, he was commis-
sioned major and surgeon of the First Illinois Light Artillery. He served
with this organization in campaigns in Tennessee and Mississippi.
Dr. Andrews was the author of several books on medical subjects and dur-
ing his long career he gave to the medical profession a number of valuable
surgical instruments and devices. He is said to have been the first profes-
66
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
EDMUND ANDREWS
JOHN HAMILCAR HOLLISTER
JONATHAN ADAMS ALLEN
WILLIAM WAGNER
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 67
sional man to employ antiseptic surgery in Chicago. Among his accomplish-
ments was the collation and publication of statistics on 98,815 cases of ether
aiuesthesia and 117,078 cases of chloroform anaesthesia to show the relative
risk in the use of these agents. He also collected and published extensive
statistics tending to show the failure of licensed prostitution.
Dr. Andrews was a geologist of repute. His work on "The Early Glacial
History of North America" has been widely quoted. He was one of the
founders of the Chicago Academy of Sciences and was its president for several
terms.
Dr. Andrews was elected president of the Chicago Medical Society in 1879
and served for one year. He was also prominent in several other professional
and patriotic organizations. For fifty years he was a member of the Second
Presbyterian church.
In April, 1853, Dr. Andrews married Miss Sarah Eliza Taylor at Detroit.
At her death in 1875 three sons survived her, Doctors E. Wyllys Andrews
and Frank Taylor Andrews and Edmund Lathrop Andrews, an electrical en-
gineer. In 1877 Dr. Andrews married Mrs. Frances M. Barrett of Detroit,
who survived him upon his death, January 22, 1904.
Of Dr. Andrews, Dr. Joseph L. Miller, who served under him as an interne
at Mercy Hospital, says : "He was one of the most versatile men I have ever
known. He had an intimate knowledge of all the natural sciences, and could
discuss in a most instructive manner a number of subjects outside of this
realm. His knowledge of a subject was always accurate and detailed whether
it related to medicine or history. This was probably accounted for by his
life-long habit of confining his reading for prolonged periods of time to one
subject, his natural investigative mind, and his wonderfully retentive memory.
A physician whose father had been a life long friend of Dr. Andrews asked
him once in my presence in regard to a certain medical question. He answered
in some detail and then stated : 'You will find it in a certain book of your
father's, which, when I last consulted it ten years ago, stood on such and such
a shelf in his library.'
"One clinic day he was short of material, but finding a patient on his service
who had a toothache, she was selected for the clinic. Without any immediate
preparation he discussed before the students the history of dentistry, the
structure of the teeth, causes of decay, etc., in a most interesting manner.
"He was most punctilious in his attention to his patients, making his rounds
each afternoon. He always had a word of cheer for each and was consequently
revered by all. The only occasion where I ever heard him reprimand a patient
severely was when one attempted to criticise a former physician. This always
called forth a well merited rebuke."
JOHN HAMILCAR HOLLISTER
(1824-1911)
Dr. John H. Hollister was a man of divided interests. One of the
organizers of the Chicago Medical College and for forty years a member of
the faculty, conducting a large practice and busily engaged in medical society
affairs, he was equally active in religious matters.
He was born at Riga, N. Y., in 1824, the son of John Bentley and Mary
Chamberlain Hollister and the eighth lineal descendant of John Hollister,
who came from England and settled in Glostenbury, Conn., in 1624. In 1826
his parents moved to Romeo, Mich., where the father died in 1831. In his
seventeenth year the future physician went to Rochester, N. Y., where he
68 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERYMN CHICAGO
took a course in the Rochester Collegiate Institute. He received his medical
degree from the Berkshire Medical College in 1847.
His first practice was at Otisco, Mich., where he remained for two years,
when he moved to Grand Rapids. There, in 1849, he married Miss Jennette
Windiate, to whom he gave credit for much of his success in after life. Their
only child to reach maturity, Miss Isabelle Hollister, is the wife of Dr.
Franklin H. Martin of Chicago.
In 1855 Dr. Hollister came to Chicago and soon afterwards was appointed
demonstrator of anatomy in Rush Medical College. Four years later he was
one of the organizers of the Chicago Medical College, in which (since its
organization) he held the chair of physiology, anatomy, pathological anatomy
and general pathology.
He was surgeon to Mercy Hospital and for twenty years was clinical
professor. He was also attending physician to Cook County Hospital and
once served as president of its staff.
He was president of the Illinois State Medical Society in 1875 and its treas-
urer for twenty years ; president of the Chicago Medical Society in 1882 and
a charter member of the Chicago Academy of Sciences ; trustee of the Ameri-
can Medical Association for eight years and editor of its journal for two
years.
Dr. Hollister was for more than fifty years a member of Plymouth Church
and served as superintendent or teacher in its Sunday School. He was presi-
dent of the Young Men's Christian Association, the Congregational Club and
the Chicago Bible Society. He was a vice-president of the American Sunday
School Mission, a member of the board of guardians of the Reform School
and a director of the Illinois Home Missionary Society.
He retired from practice in 1900 after an active service of fifty-three years
in the medical profession. He died at Redlands, Cal., December 13, 1911.
JONATHAN ADAMS ALLEN
(1825-1890)
"His lectures were so alive with wit and anecdote that to a beginner they
were an entertainment of the rarest sort; but it was to the second year
student and the practitioner that the wisdom of the man shone through the
wit."
So do the annalists describe Dr. Jonathan Adams Allen, for thirty-one
years professor in and for thirteen years president of Rush Medical College.
His father, of the same name, was a very prominent physician in New Eng-
land, and a professor in Castleton Medical College.
Dr. Allen was born at Middlebury, Vt., January 16, 1825. He was grad-
uated from Middlebury College with the degree of A. B. in 1845 and the next
year he received the degree of M. D. from Castleton Medical College.
From the time of his graduation he practiced and taught in Michigan and
Indiana. While in Michigan, in 1850, he was made professor of physiology
and pathology in the medical department of the University of Michigan. In
1858 he was elected president of the Michigan State Medical Society. While
at the University of Michigan Dr. Allen published "Essays on the Mechanism
of Nervous Action" and "Medical Examination for Life Insurance Com-
panies." Both works had wide distribution.
Accepting the chair of the theory and practice of medicine at Rush Medi-
cal College in 1859, Dr. Allen held this position for thirty-one years until ill
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 69
health compelled him to resign in 1890. He succeeded Dr. Joseph W. Freer
as president of Rush in 1877, continuing in that office for thirteen years.
He was surgeon for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad for
twenty-four years. He was also a member of the staff of St. Joseph's
Hospital. He was a member of the American Medical Association and the
Chicago and Illinois State Medical societies.
Dr. Allen was very highly regarded by the students at Rush Medical Col-
lege, to whom he was familiarly known as "Uncle Allen." He was a man of
wide reading and accumulated a very extensive library. After his death the
medical portion was given to the Presbyterian Hospital and later transferred
to Rush Medical College, forming the nucleus of the now fine library of that
institution.
On January 1, 1847, Dr. Allen married Miss Mary Marsh of Kalamazoo,
Mich. He died in Chicago, August 15, 1890.
WILLIAM WAGNER
(1825-1872)
Member of the group of German revolutionists to which Carl Schurz and
Franz Sigel belonged, Dr. William Wagner fled to the United States in 1848.
He was born in Karlsruhe, Germany, in 1825. He attended medical lec-
tures at Heidelberg, but was graduated in 1848 from the University of
Wiirzburg.
He joined the patriots, Schurz and Sigel, in the political uprising in the
Grand Duchy of Baden and with them escaped to America. He remained for
a brief period in Utica, New York, but in 1849 settled in Chicago. For a
time he was in charge of the smallpox hospital and in 1857 he was a member
of the first medical staff of the newly re-organized City Hospital. In that
year he founded the German Medical Society of Chicago and became its
first president.
Mayor Haines appointed Dr. Wagner city physician in 1859 and in that
capacity he managed the smallpox hospital in the epidemic of that year.
Commissioned major and surgeon of the Twenty-fourth Illinois Volunteer
Infantry in 1861, he served until 1863, when he resigned and returned to
Chicago.
In 1864 he was elected coroner of Cook County and was re-elected for four
years in 1865. In 1866 he was among the organizers of Cook County Hospital
and was a member of the medical staff for several years. In 1867 he was
appointed a member of the board of health and took a leading part in the
suppression of a smallpox epidemic prevalent at that time.
He visited Berlin in 1868 to attend a notable series of lectures then being
given in that city. He married Miss Matilda Brentano, daughter of Lawrence
Brentano. He died in Chicago July 5, 1872, and was survived by Mrs. Wagner
and three sons and a daughter.
SAMUEL COLEMAN BLAKE
(1826-1897)
An associate with Doctors Daniel Brainard, De Laskie Miller and Joseph
Presley Ross in establishing the nucleus from which was developed the
Cook County Hospital, the largest institution of the kind in the United
States, Dr. Samuel Coleman Blake was for many years a factor in the pro-
fessional life of Chicago.
70 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
SAMUEL COLEMAN BLAKE
ABRAHAM REEVES JACKSON
ROBERT LAUGHLIN REA
CHARLES GILMAN SMITH
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 71
Dr. Blake was born in Bath, Me., July 25, 1826. His grandfather, John
Blake, was a cousin of General Henry Dearborn, in whose company he
fought at Bunker Hill. Dr. Blake was graduated from the medical depart-
ment of Harvard University in 1853, and, after practicing for three years in
Boston, he came to Chicago.
Two years after his arrival Dr. Blake, with Doctors Brainard, Miller and
Ross, leased the City Hospital building and organized and operated the
institution which at the close of the Civil War became the County Hospital.
In 1861 he was commissioned as surgeon of the Nineteenth Illinois In-
fantry, the first regiment to leave Chicago for the front, with which he went
to Missouri. Later he was transferred to the Thirty-ninth Illinois Infantry,
which he helped to organize and with which he served in Virginia.
During his service Dr. Blake organized base hospitals at Quincy, 111.,
Hancock, Md., Mount Jackson and Strasburg, Va., and field hospitals in
Virginia. In 1863, his health being impaired for active service, he resigned
his commission and that year was elected physician of Cook County. From
1865 to 1866 he was city physician. In 1866 he was a member of the board
of supervisors of Cook County and instrumental in laying the foundation of
Cook County Hospital that year. Dr. Blake was also one of the organizers
of the Chicago Hospital for Women and Children. He occupied the chair
of diseases of the mind and nervous system in the Women's Medical Col-
lege for seven years.
In 1877, for reasons of health, he left Chicago, returning in 1887.
In 1858 Dr. Blake married Adaline, one of the daughters of Benjamin
Jones, one of the early settlers and first merchants of the city.
Dr. Blake was a fellow of the Massachusetts State Medical Society, and a
member of the American Medical Association, the Illinois State and Chicago
Medical societies. He died February 8, 1897, and was survived by his
widow and three sons, Charles C., Benjamin J. and Tiffany Blake, editorial
writer for the Chicago Tribune.
ABRAHAM REEVES JACKSON
(1827-1892)
"My friend, the doctor" of Mark Twain's "Innocents Abroad," was Dr.
Abraham Reeves Jackson, sometime lecturer at Rush Medical College and
one of the organizers of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Chicago.
Dr. Jackson was a son of Washington and Deborah Jackson and was born
in Philadelphia, June 17, 1827. He was educated in the public schools and
the Central High School of that city.
He was graduated from the medical department of the University of
Pennsylvania in 1848. After practicing for a brief time in Kresgeville, Pa.,
and Columbus, N. J., Dr. Jackson settled in Stroudsville, Pa. In 1850 he
married Miss Harriet Hollingshead of Stroudsville. She died in 1865.
Entering the Union Army in 1862 as assistant surgeon, in the latter part
of the war he was advanced to the rank of assistant medical director of the
Army of Virginia.
When Dr. Jackson was surgeon of the S. S. "Quaker City," he met Mark
Twain, who was a passenger. They became cronies and the great humorist
commemorated the rencontre by referring to Dr. Jackson, as "My friend, the
doctor" in "Innocents Abroad."
Coming to Chicago in 1870, he specialized in gynecology. The following
year he married Miss Julia Newell of Janesville, Wis. In 1872 he was
72 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
appointed professor of gynecology in Rush Medical College and held this
professorship until 1877, when he resigned. In appreciation of his ability,
Rush conferred upon him an honorary degree of Doctor of Medicine. In
1881 Dr. Jackson, with others, organized and incorporated the College of
Physicians and Surgeons, now the College of Medicine of the University of
Illinois.
The College of Physicians and Surgeons opened September 26, 1882, with
Dr. Jackson as the president, which position he held until his death. He
also assumed the professorship of surgical diseases of women and clinical
gynecology.
Dr. Jackson helped to organize the Chicago Gynecological Society in
1883 and became its head. Eight years later he was chosen president of the
American Gynecological Society. He was also a member of the British Gyne-
cological Society, the American Academy of Medicine, the American Medical
Association, the Illinois State and the Chicago Medical societies.
While operating upon an infected patient Dr. Jackson inoculated a finger
and never fully recovered from the effects of the disease. He died November
12, 1892. A bust was placed in his memory in the College of Physicians
and Surgeons.
ROBERT LAUGHLIN REA
(1827-1899)
Professor at Rush Medical College, the Chicago Medical College and the
College of Physicians and Surgeons of Chicago, Dr. Robert L. Rea has been
described as the greatest teacher of anatomy Chicago has ever known.
He was born in Rockbridge County, Virginia, July 1, 1827. In his seven-
teenth year he went to live on the farm of Absalom Manlove in Fayette
County, Indiana. He worked on the place in summer and taught school in
winter. He then read medicine in the office of Dr. W. P. Kitchen, of Browns-
ville, Indiana. In 1851 he began practice at Oxford, Ohio, but, realizing the
need of better professional training, he matriculated at Ohio Medical College,
from which he was graduated in 1855. After graduation he was appointed
demonstrator of anatomy in the Ohio institution and resident physician in
the Commercial Hospital of Cincinnati. In 1859, at Dr. Daniel Brainard's
invitation, he came to Rush Medical College, where he became professor of
anatomy.
In 1862 he became a member of the medical staff of the old City Hospital,
joining Doctors Brockholst McVickar, George K. Amerman, Joseph P. Ross
and Joseph W. Freer. In 1863 the hospital was commandeered by the
government for an eye and ear infirmary.
Dr. Rea remained with Rush Medical College until 1875, when he accepted
the professorship of anatomy in the Chicago Medical College. In 1882 he
became a member of the first faculty of the College of Physicians and Sur-
geons, in which he was professor of surgery and clinical surgery. He retired
in 1886 on account of ill health. His ability had been such as to elicit from
Dr. N. S. Davis the declaration that Dr. Rea was Chicago's greatest teacher
of anatomy.
For thirty years Dr. Rea was surgeon-in-chief of the Pennsylvania railroad.
On July 2, 1874, he married Miss Mollie Manlove, daughter of Absolom
Manlove. He died July 10, 1899. In his will he endowed the Rea professor-
ship of anatomy in the Medical Department of Northwestern University.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 73
Cll A R L E S OILMAN SMI T 11
(1828-1894)
For forty years active in the professional and social life of Chicago,
])r. Charles Oilman Smith had come to Chicago with a degree from the
medical department of the University of Pennsylvania.
He was born in Exeter, New Hampshire, January 4, 1828, and received his
preparatory education at Phillips Exeter Academy. While he was attending
Harvard Medical School in 1949 the Webster-Parkman tragedy occurred.
This resulted in the hanging of Professor Webster for killing Dr. Parkman.
Dr. Smith thereupon transferred to the medical department of the University
of Pennsylvania, from which he was graduated in 1851.
Practicing in Boston for a year, he moved to Chicago in 1853 and opened an
office at 122 Lake Street, which, at that time, was in the center of the business
district. During the civil war Dr. Smith was one of six physicians assigned
to the medical care of Confederate prisoners at Camp Douglas.
In 1868 he pursued a post-graduate course in leading hospitals in France,
England and Germany. In 1870 he became professor of the diseases of chil-
dren in the Woman's Medical College. He was also consulting physician to
the Presbyterian Hospital and medical examiner for a number of life insur-
ance companies.
He was president of the Chicago Literary Club and a member of the
Academy of Science. He married Miss Harriet Gaylord, October 10, 1873.
He died January 10, 1894.
JOSEPH PRESLEY ROSS
(1828-1890)
Dr. Joseph Presley Ross entered politics and became a member of the
county board that he might carry through his cherished plan to provide a
real county hospital for this community.
He showed the same indomitable zeal when he, with others, undertook the
building of the Presbyterian Hospital.
Father, as contemporaries called him, of two of Chicago's noblest institu-
tions, Dr. Ross was one of Chicago's most useful citizens.
He was born in Clark County, Ohio, January 7, 1828. He was descended
from Scotch ancestors who came to America before the revolution. Joseph
Ross left his father's farm at the age of nineteen to become interested in a
woolen mill in Piqua, Ohio. In two years he had made $2,000. This sum
enabled him to attend the Piqua Academy and to read medicine under
Dr. G. Volney Dorsey. He was graduated from the Ohio Medical College at
Cincinnati in 1852. After practicing for a year at St. Mary's, Ohio, he came
to Chicago in 1853. He soon formed a partnership with Dr. L. P. Cheney,
which continued for several years.
Dr. Ross was physician to the Orphan Asylum for several years and the
first physician to the State Reform School.
During the civil war the government had taken over the City Hospital,
with the administration of which Dr. Ross had been identified. After the
conflict the hospital passed under the control of the county commissioners.
Dr. Ross foresaw the need for an adequate public hospital in a community
that was growing by leaps and bounds and, that he might closely direct the
development of the County Hospital, he became a candidate for membership
in the county board and was elected. The hospital is now the largest and
best of its kind in the United States.
74
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
JOSEPH PRESLEY ROSS
EDWARD LORENZO HOLMES
MILLS OLCOTT HEYDOCK
JOHN HENRY RAUCH
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 75
In the spring course at Rush Medical College, Dr. Ross had begun to lec-
ture on clinical medicine in 1860. In 1866-67 he was clinical lecturer at the
County Hospital and in 1868 he became professor of clinical medicine and
diseases of the chest at Rush. This position he occupied until 1890.
Vigorous and aggressive, he took a leading part in the development of the
college. \Yhen the institution was destroyed by fire in 1871 he contributed
largely to its restoration.
For a long time Dr. Ross had advocated in faculty meetings the erection
of a hospital adjacent to Rush Medical College. Finally a lot was bought and
on it the construction of the hospital was begun. For the building fund,
])r. Ross obtained a subscription of $10,000 from his father-in-law, Tuthill
King, whose daughter, Miss Elizabeth King, had become the wife of Dr. Ross
in 1856. The trustees took this money and other funds raised among the
faculty and proceeded in 1883 to develop the project on a scale much larger
than originally intended. In the winter of 1883-84 the college and the
Presbyterian Hospital Association, formed at Dr. Ross' instigation, made an
agreement whereby the college deeded the lot and unfinished structure to the
association on condition, among other things, that the latter should complete
the building and open and maintain it perpetually as a hospital.
The association immediately took charge, finished the building and opened
it as a hospital in the autumn of 1884. A medical staff was appointed
consisting of six consulting and fourteen attending members. Dr. Ross was
one of the latter.
After a life of exceptional beneficence, Dr. Ross died June 15, 1890.
EDWARD LORENZO HOLMES
(1828-1900)
Youthful associate of John Lathrop Motley.
Pupil of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
Member of the Brook Farm Colony.
Graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Medical School.
Student in Vienna, Paris and Berlin.
Founder of the Illinois Charitable Eye and Ear Infirmary.
For forty years instructor and professor at Rush Medical College, and for
eight years its president.
One of the organizers of the Presbyterian Hospital.
Philanthropist and public-spirited citizen.
Thus is summarized the career of Dr. Edward Lorenzo Holmes, for forty-
four years an exalted figure in the professional and civic life of Chicago.
"May each of you grow old and wear out in the service of others." This
was the wish of President Holmes, expressed in his farewell to a graduating
class of Rush Medical College. It was an ideal that Dr. Holmes himself
exemplified.
Dr. Holmes was born in Dedham, Mass., January 28, 1828. A maternal
ancestor was Major John Buttnck, who commanded Revolutionary troops
at Concord.
Interest in higher education was stimulated by association with John
Lathrop Motley, a citizen of Dedham, in whose library young Holmes did
odd tasks. In after years Dr. Holmes often spoke of the inspiration which
he received from talks with the great historian and the desire that was awak-
ened in him to know about the books over which he had been working.
Entering Harvard College in the fall of 1845, he devoted himself to the
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
sciences and mathematics and to Latin, Greek, French and German. Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow was his instructor in German. During the spring
and summer vacations Dr. Holmes walked to West Roxbury, Mass., to
become a member of the famous Brook Farm Colony. It was significant that
an active boy of eighteen should spend his vacation amid the surroundings
created by New England scholars in their effort to promote an undertaking
dedicated to cultural ideals and to Christianity.
Dr. Holmes received the degree of A. M. magna cum laude from Harvard
College in 1849. After two years of teaching he entered Harvard Medical
School, graduating from that institution in 1854. His reward for excellent
scholarship was an appointment as interne in the Massachusetts General Hos-
pital. Subsequently he studied in Vienna, Berlin and Paris.
He finally established his residence in Chicago in 1856. Two years later he
founded the Illinois Charitable Eye and Ear Infirmary, which, through its
first decade, was largely maintained from his private purse. It later became
a state institution and he remained at its head almost to the close of his life.
In 1859 he became lecturer on ophthalmology and otology in Rush Medi-
cal College. During the war of the rebellion he served intermittently in
the battle zone in an advisory capacity in matters pertaining to accidents to
the eye and ear. He continued as lecturer at Rush Medical College until
1869, when the chair of ophthalmology and otology was created for him by
the faculty of that institution. In this professorship he continued for thirty
years. From 1890 to 1898 he was president of the faculty. He resigned in
the latter year on account of ill health after forty years of devoted service.
The founding of Presbyterian Hospital must be credited principally to Dr.
Joseph P. Ross, but the valuable and sagacious assistance given by Dr.
Holmes did much for the early development of the institution. The per-
fecting of details in the general plan for the establishment of the hospital
and the assurance of its support by effecting an amalgamation with Rush
Medical College, were chiefly the work of Dr. Holmes. For years he presided
over the medical staff of the hospital.
From 1857 to the close of his life, Dr. Holmes was an active member of the
American Medical Association and the Illinois State and Chicago Medical
societies. He was also a member of the American and Chicago Ophthal-
mological societies.
Almost the pioneer in ophthalmology in the west, Dr. Holmes was regarded
for a third of a century as its leading practitioner.
In 1862 Dr. Holmes married Miss Paula von Wieser of Vienna.
He died February 12, 1900. He was survived by two sons, Dr. Rudolph W.
Holmes and Edward L. Holmes, and three daughters, Mrs. Paula Holmes
Gray and Mrs. Carol Holmes Dawborn, both the wives of physicians, and
Miss Jeanette R. Holmes.
Of Dr. Holmes, Dr. Cassius D. Wescott, associated with him during his
later years, has written :
"All who knew Dr. Holmes well were impressed with his gentleness, his
simplicity and his humanity. To him a sufferer was a sacred thing and no
one who asked for his service was denied as long as he had health and
strength to work, no matter whether the patient could pay or not.
"He had a large practice, but his fees were very modest and he left a small
estate. He was never known to speak ill of anyone, and it \vas a rule of his
household : 'If we cannot speak well of one, we will say nothing.' "
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 77
MILLS OLCOTT HEYDOCK
(1828-1881)
One of the founders of St. Luke's Hospital, Dr. Mills Olcott Heydock
was president of the Chicago Medical Society in 1864-65.
Dr. Heydock was born in Hanover, N. H., February 4, 1828. After re-
ceiving" his academic education at Dartmouth College, Dr. Heydock entered
the medical department of Dartmouth College and obtained his medical
degree in 1852. He practiced medicine at Farmington, Conn., from 1852 to
1854. In 1854 he came to Chicago.
When the Chicago Medical College was organized in 1859, he was made
professor of materia medica, therapeutics and medical jurisprudence.
In 1864 Dr. Heydock was elected president of the Chicago Medical Society,
of which he had been a member since his arrival in Chicago. In the same
year he helped to organize St. Luke's Hospital and was a member of its
first board of trustees. Dr. Heydock and Doctors Walter Hay and John E.
Owens were among the attending physicians at the hospital, Dr. Heydock
serving as gynecologist and accoucher.
He died in Chicago, April 17, 1881.
JOHN HENRY RAUCH
(1828-1894)
"Creator of the public health conscience of Illinois."
This was the characterization given Dr. John H. Rauch after he had closed
a career of more than thirty years as the foremost sanitarian of the state.
Born in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, September 4, 1828, John H. Rauch was
graduated from the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania in
1849. He began practice in 1850 at Burlington, Iowa, where he at once
became interested in sanitary science and preventive medicine. He was
appointed professor of materia medica and medical botany at Rush Medical
College in Chicago in 1857, establishing his residence here the following year.
His service in the union army as a surgeon was such as to earn for him
promotion to the rank of lieutenant colonel. His experience afforded ample
opportunity for the employment of his sanitary knowledge and confirmed him
in his estimate of the practical value of sanitary science.
Upon his return to Chicago from the war he plunged into the solution of
the city's sanitary problems. As the result of leverage exerted by him, the
old city cemetery was removed from part of the site of Lincoln Park, as a
sanitary measure. He was also a leader in the agitation which resulted in
Chicago's present park system.
Dr. Rauch aided in reorganizing the public health service of Chicago in
1867 and was appointed member of the board of health and sanitary
superintendent.
The population in 1867 was increased by more than 25,000 over 1866. The
total mortality for 1866 was 6,524, that for 1867 was 4,773, a reduction of 1,751
in the actual number of deaths, notwithstanding the increase in population.
"These lives," says Dr. Arthur R. Reynolds, "must stand to the everlasting
credit of Dr. Rauch and his associates in the sanitary regeneration of
Chicago."
Among the achievements in which he figured were:
Organization and enforcement of sanitary measures for the welfare of
112,000 men, women and children rendered homeless by the great fire of 1871.
78
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
MARY HARRIS THOMPSON
THOMAS DAVIS FITCH
JOHN BARTLETT
EDWIN M. HALE
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 79
Participation in the formation of the American Public Health Association,
of which he was president in 1876.
Agitation for an Illinois State Board of Health, of which he became the
head in 1877, after enactment of the law.
Drastic reforms under the medical practice act whereby non-graduates in
large numbers were eliminated as practitioners.
A successful campaign against yellow fever in southern Illinois.
Substitution of quarantine by inspection for the "shot gun" quarantine,
thus effecting an immense saving to commerce. On the Illinois Central
freight tonnage received at Cairo in 1878 was 87,300,600 and, as the result of
quarantine by inspection, it was raised to 129,833,800 in 1879.
Initiation of public school vaccinations throughout Illinois.
Elevation of the requirements of the state board of health as to educational
standards. Dr. Ranch was particularly insistent that colleges demand a high
grade, preliminary training before admittance to the study of medicine.
He gave up his connection with the state board of health in 1891. In 1892
he assisted the late Dr. John B. Hamilton in the establishment and equipment
of Camp Low quarantine station to care for an epidemic of Asiatic cholera
then threatening.
In 1893 he was active in connection with the Board of Awards of the
World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
He died at Lebanon, Pennsylvania, March 24, 1894.
Of Dr. Rauch, Dr. Arthur R. Reynolds says : "He thought of the welfare
of his fellows and his far-seeing wisdom has made his state and his country
a better place to live in."
MARY HARRIS THOMPSON
(1829-1895)
Founder of the Hospital for Women and Children which now bears her
name.
For thirty years the head of its staff.
First woman to receive a degree from the Chicago Medical College.
First woman to do major surgery in Chicago.
Such was Dr. Mary Harris Thompson whose "learning, personality, thor-
oughness, perseverance and skill," says Dr. A. J. Ochsner, "convinced many
of us that it was possible for a woman to be a real physician and surgeon."
Dr. Thompson was born at Fort Ann, New York, April 15, 1829. She was
educated there and devoted several years to teaching and to the independent
study of astronomy, chemistry, physiology and anatomy. She first studied
medicine at the New England Female Medical College in 1859 and, after
graduation from the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania, served a
year as interne with Dr. Emily Blackwell. In July, 1863, she settled in
Chicago to practice her profession. Through her efforts the Hospital for
Women and Children was established in 1865. From that time until her
death thirty years later Dr. Thompson held uninterruptedly the position of
head physician and surgeon in that institution.
The Hospital for Women and Children was the forerunner of the Woman's
Medical College organized by Doctors William H. Byford, William G. Dyas
and others in 1870. Until her demise Dr. Thompson held the professorship
of clinical gynecology in the Woman's Medical College. At the beginning of
her incumbency in this position the Chicago Medical College bestowed upon
her the first degree it ever gave to a woman.
80 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
Dr. Thompson was the first and for many years the only woman in Chicago
to do major surgery.
The training school for nurses was organized in connection with the hos-
pital and an important part of Dr. Thompson's work was the training of
graduate nurses.
Dr. Thompson was the inventor of several surgical instruments of value
and of an abdominal needle which has been widely adopted by surgeons.
Three days prior to her death she wras suddenly stricken by an attack of
cerebral hemorrhage and died May 21, 1895. At the first meeting of the
Chicago Medical Society following her death glowing eulogies were delivered
by Doctors John Bartlett, Isaac N. Danforth and others.
Soon after Dr. Thompson's death the name of the Women's and Children's
Hospital was changed to honor her memory.
THOMAS DAVIS FITCH
(1829-1901)
President of the Chicago Medical Society and of the Illinois State Medical
Society, surgeon in the Union army, one of the founders of the Woman's
Medical College — these were some of the activities of Dr. Thomas Davis
Fitch during a half century of professional life in Chicago and Illinois.
Dr. Fitch was born at Troy, Pa., July 14, 1829. He was a student at Knox
College, Galesburg, 111., and in 1850-51 attended Rush Medical College.
Among his preceptors were Doctors N. S. Davis and A. B. Palmer. After
practicing for two years at Wethersfield, 111., Dr. Fitch resumed his studies
at Rush and was graduated in 1854.
Removing to Kewanee in the autumn of 1854, Dr. Fitch became one of the
organizers of the Henry County Medical Society, and its president.
At the outbreak of the Civil War, Dr. Fitch was commissioned with the
rank of major and assigned as surgeon of the Forty-second Illinois Volunteer
Infantry. He remained in the service until 1863, when he resigned his com-
mission on account of ill health.
Coming to Chicago in 1864, he was elected county physician the following
year. In 1870 he was placed in charge of the department of obstetrics and
diseases of women and children of the Women's and Children's Hospital. He
occupied the position for thirteen years. At the time Dr. Fitch became
affiliated with the hospital he helped to organize the Woman's Medical Col-
lege, filling the chair of gynecology. In 1870 Dr. Fitch was also president of
the Chicago Medical Society. Later he was president of the Illinois State
Medical Society for one term. A stroke of paralysis caused Dr. Fitch to retire
from active work in 1883, when he was made professor emeritus of gyne-
cology in the Woman's Medical College.
Dr. Fitch died at the Soldiers' Home, Quincy, 111., September 2, 1901.
NICHOLAS FRANCIS COOKE
(1829-1885)
Dr. Nicholas Francis Cooke was born August 25, 1829, at Providence,
Rhode Island. He was the grandson of Nicholas Cooke, the first Continental
governor of Rhode Island.
Early in life he decided to enter the medical profession, receiving special
instruction from Dr. Usher Parsons of Providence. In 1846 he entered Brown
University and from 1849 to 1852 he traveled in foreign countries, acting as
ship's surgeon on several of the vessels on which he sailed.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 81
In 1852 he entered the medical department of the University of Pennsyl-
vania, also attending lectures at Jefferson Medical College. His conversion
to homeopathy was the result of an investigation upon which he entered with
a view of taking intelligent ground against it.
He entered upon the practice of his profession in his native city in company
with Dr. A. H. Okie, said to have been the first homeopathic graduate in this
country. He removed to Chicago in 1855, where he was elected to the chair
of chemistry upon the organization of Hahnemann Medical College. Later
he was professor of the theory and practice of medicine. He held this posi-
tion until his resignation in 1870.
He received the degree of Doctor of Laws from St. Ignatius College in
1871. In 1879 he was elected vice-president of the American Institute of
Homeopathy and in 1880 he was designated emeritus professor of special
pathology and diagnosis in Hahnemann Medical College.
He married Miss Laura Wheaton Abbot of Warren, Rhode Island, October
15, 1856. His bride was a daughter of Commodore Joel Abbot of the United
States Navy. There were four children, Nicholas Francis, Abbot Stanislaus,
Joseph Walter and Mary Gertrude.
Dr. Cooke was the author of a book called "Satan in Society," which had a
large sale.
He died February 1, 1885.
JOHN BARTLETT
(1829-1910)
An organizer and member of the staff of the Women's and Children's Hos-
pital, later the Mary Thompson Hospital for Women and Children, student
and linguist, Dr. John Bartlett was born in Louisville, Ky., in 1829, the son of
George F. and Mary M. (Rogers) Bartlett.
Dr. Bartlett was graduated from the medical department of the University
of Louisville in 1850. He came to Chicago in 1862, specializing in obstetrics.
It was while engaged in this practice that he aided in establishing the
Women's and Children's Hospital, becoming a member of the staff. He
became professor of obstetrics in the Chicago Policlinic and obstetrician in
the Augustana Hospital.
He wrote largely on obstetrical subjects, and made improvements in the
instruments employed in his specialty. He was a pioneer intubator of the
larynx and devised an electro-magnetic extractor for intubation tubes.
Dr. Bartlett was a fluent speaker of French and German and a student of
Latin also. He accumulated an extensive library and donated his two hun-
dred and fifty volumes on obstetrics to the John Crerar Library.
He was a member of the American Medical Association and the Illinois
State and Chicago Medical societies, and was president of the Chicago Society
of Physicians and Surgeons, the Chicago Gynecological Society and the Chi-
cago Medico-Historical Society.
Dr. Bartlett died in Chicago July 19, 1910.
EDWIN M. HALE
(1829-1899)
Dr. Edwin M. Hale, one of the organizers of the Chicago Homeopathic
Medical College and a prolific writer on homeopathy, was born in Newport,
New Hampshire, in 1829. His father, Syene Hale, himself studied medicine
and took his degree from the medical department of Dartmouth College.
82
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
EUGENE MARGUERAT
THOMAS BEVAN
WALTER HAY
ERNST SCHMIDT
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 83
Dr. Edwin M. Hale was for two years a student of homeopathy under
Dr. A. O. Blair of Newark, Ohio, and in 1850 he entered the Cleveland Home-
opathic Medical College. At the end of the term he located in the village of
Tonesville, Michigan. At that time there were not more than a dozen home-
opathic physicians in the state, but that did not deter them, including Doctor
Hale, from making an effort to establish a homeopathic department in the
University of Michigan. In this they were finally successful. Dr. Hale
declined the proffered chair of materia medica and therapeutics in the new
department, as he had been called to the same professorship in the Hahne-
mann Medical College of Chicago. He lectured in this institution for eighteen
years.
After severing his connection with Hahnemann Medical College, he
accepted the chair of materia medica and therapeutics in the newly organ-
ized Chicago Homeopathic Medical College. This he held for five years
and when he retired from the chair he was made professor emeritus.
Dr. Hale was an honorary member of many home and foreign associations
and a member of the Chicago Academy of Science and the American Insti-
tute of Homeopathy. He was one of the founders of the Calumet and Chi-
cago Literary clubs.
During his professional career, Dr. Hale wrote nearly seventy books and
pamphlets. Many of them were translated into French, German and Span-
ish. His "Practice of Medicine" is accounted one of his best works.
Dr. Hale married Miss Abba Ann George of Jonesville, Michigan, Octo-
ber 13, 1852. There were two children, Dr. Albert B. Hale and Mrs. Frances
G. Gardiner.
Dr. Hale died January 15, 1899.
EUGENE MARGUERAT
(1829-1907)
One of the founders of the Woman's Hospital and of the Woman's Medical
College of Chicago, Dr. Eugene Marguerat was president of the Chicago
Medical Society in 1868-69.
He was born near Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1829. After his graduation
from the College of Lausanne, he studied in Paris and began the reading of
medicine in that city. Joining a number of French emigrants, he came to
America in 1851. For three years he was professor of Latin, Greek and French
at the Oswego (New York) academy.
He entered Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, in 1855, and, upon
graduation, matriculated in the medical department of New York University,
from which he .was graduated in 1859. After engaging in hospital work in
New York and Philadelphia, he practiced for a time in central New York.
He located in Chicago in 1862 and soon afterward joined the Sanitary Com-
mission. In cooperation with the commission he visited Pittsburgh Landing,
where he was assiduous in the care of sick and wounded.
Dr. Marguerat assisted in founding the Woman's Hospital and five years
later he helped to establish the Woman's Medical College, where he became
professor of obstetrics. He was elected to the presidency of the Chicago
Medical Society in 1868-69.
He died March 7, 1907 after a professional career in Chicago of forty-five
years.
84 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
THOMAS BEVAN
(1830-1880)
President of the Chicago Medical Society in its early years, sanitarian and
teacher, Dr. Thomas Bevan for more than a quarter of a century was one of
the most distinguished physicians of Chicago.
Dr. Bevan was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, June 11, 1830. He was graduated
from the Ohio Medical College in 1851, spending two years thereafter in the
medical department of the University of Paris.
In 1853 Dr. Bevan married Miss S. E. Ramsay of Clermont, Ohio, and a
year later he began the practice of medicine in Chicago. During the Civil
War he was one of the attending physicians at Camp Douglas, and in 1866
he became a member of the attending surgical staff of Cook County Hospital,
continuing in that relation until his death.
From 1867 to 1873 Dr. Bevan was professor of hygiene and sanitation in
the Chicago Medical College and from 1873 until his death, professor of
clinical medicine and climatology. His more important works include reports
on cholera from 1867 to 1873 and a series of monographs on sanitary science,
which were published in book form in 1879.
Dr. Bevan was one of the founders of the Chicago Medico-Historical So-
ciety, under whose supervision the medical directories of those days were
published, and was a member of the Society of Physicians and Surgeons. He
was also a member of the American Medical Association, the Illinois State
and Chicago Medical Societies, being president of the last-named in 1865-66.
In 1898 his son, Dr. Arthur Dean Bevan, was elected president of the Chi-
cago Medical Society, the only instance in the seventy-two years of the
society where the son of an ex-president received like honor.
Dr. Bevan was one of the best known physicians of Chicago and his sudden
death was a great shock to the community. He was found dead in his office
March 15, 1880, the victim of an apoplectic seizure.
WALTER HAY
(1830-1893)
An organizer of St. Luke's Hospital, the American Neurological Associa-
tion, the Chicago Department of Health and the department of mental and
nervous diseases in Rush Medical College, Dr. Walter Hay was a teacher and
practitioner in Chicago for thirty-six years.
He was born in Georgetown, D. C., June 13, 1830. His father was Charles
Eustace Hay, a Virginia lawyer, and his grandfather was George Hay, Fed-
eral Judge of the eastern district of Virginia.
After graduating from the Jesuit College of Georgetown, Dr. Hay joined
the United States Coast Survey in 1847. While in this service he began the
study of medicine and in 1853 he was graduated from Columbian Medical
College, Georgetown, D. C.
In 1857 Dr. Hay came to Chicago, where the remainder of his life was de-
voted to practice and teaching. In 1864 he was an organizer of St. Luke's
Hospital and in 1867 of the Chicago Department of Health. The same year
he became associated with Dr. J. Adams Allen in editing the Chicago Medical
Journal. In 1871 Dr. Hay was chosen secretary of the committee that dis-
bursed the Chicago Medical Relief Fund for fire sufferers.
At this time Dr. Hay organized the department of mental and nervous
diseases in Rush Medical College. Two years later he established a similar
department in St. Joseph's Hospital.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 85
In 1875 he was appointed Assistant Surgeon, U. S. Army, on the staff of
Lieutenant General Philip H. Sheridan and in the same year he aided in
organizing- the American Neurological Association. In 1877 he was an or-
ganizer of the Dubuque (Iowa) Charity Hospital. From 1882 to 1885 he was
professor of materia medica and from the latter year to 1889 was professor of
neurology in the Chicago Medical College.
In 1856 Dr. Hay married Miss Rebecca Ringgold of Maryland, who died in
1857. Seven years later he married Miss Angelica Rodney, who died in 1865.
His third wife was Miss Maria Jones of Iowa, whom he married in 1872.
In 1890 Dr. Hay retired to a farm near Annapolis, Md., where he died
February 13, 1893.
ERNST S C H M I D T
(1830-1900)
Participant in the German Revolution of 1848.
Veteran of the civil war.
Member of the first staff of the Alexian Brothers Hospital.
One of the sponsors of the first Jewish Hospital in Chicago.
Coroner of Cook County.
Classical scholar.
Such was Dr. Ernst Schmidt, who was born in Bavaria in 1830. His medi-
cal education was obtained in the Universities of Zurich, Heidelberg, Munich
and Wiirzburg. He was graduated from the last named in 1852. After a
post-graduate course in Prague and Vienna, he was appointed assistant in the
hospital of the University of Wiirzburg. There he served until 1857, when
he came to Chicago.
Having taken an active part in the German revolution of 1848, Dr. Schmidt
.encountered many of his former comrades here and he immediately became
active in German circles. Thus he became one of the organizers and a vice-
president of the German Medical Society of Chicago.
In 1860 he received an appointment in the Humboldt Medical College of St.
Louis, which, founded in 1857, was the first medical college in this country
with a graduated three years' system of education, and removed to that
city. With the outbreak of the civil war, however, he entered the Union Army
as surgeon of the Second Missouri Volunteers. Disability resulting from ex-
posure compelled his retirement from the service and he returned to Chicago.
He was elected coroner of Cook county in 1864.
In 1867 the Alexian Brothers Hospital was chartered and Dr. Schmidt was
appointed to membership on its staff. Throughout the remainder of his life
he was identified with this institution.
Dr. Schmidt and Dr. Ralph N. Isham were the first professional sponsors
of a Jewish Hospital in Chicago and it was largely through their influence
that such a hospital was started at the corner of Schiller Street and LaSalle
Avenue in 1869. This was the nucleus of Michael Reese Hospital, whose staff
Dr. Schmidt organized. He was also one of the organizers of the German
American Dispensary in 1873, and was consultant to St. Joseph's Hospital for
many years.
In 1879 Dr. Schmidt received 11,829 votes as the Social Democratic candi-
date for mayor of Chicago, out of a total vote of 66,910. His vote, far in ex-
cess of that usually cast for candidates of the Social Democratic party, evi-
dently was drawn from the Republican party, thereby electing to the mayor-
86
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
NILES T. QUALES
RALPH NELSON ISHAM
REUBEN LUDLAM
SWAYNE WICKERSHAM
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 87
alty Carter H. Harrison, the Democratic candidate, whose votes exceeded that
of the Republican candidate by a few thousand only.
He was a classical scholar of distinction. He retained his fluency in Latin
conversation to the last, and his knowledge of Greek enabled him to translate
a hitherto untranslated drama by Aeschylus in the later years of his life.
In 1856 he married Miss Therese Weickard, who survived him.
Dr. Schmidt's sons are Doctor Otto L. Schmidt and Louis E. Schmidt and
Richard E. Schmidt, an architect. Frederick M. Schmidt, another son, who
was a pharmacist, died in 1918.
Dr. Ernst Schmidt died August 26, 1900.
NILES T. QUALES
(1831-1914)
Traditional devotion of the physician to his patients had heroic exempli-
fication during the great Chicago fire when Dr. Niles T. Quales was in charge
of the Marine Hospital. As the flames menaced the lives of sixty-seven sick
men, Dr. and Mrs. Quales, deserted by all the hospital help except two
nurses, rescued every inmate, including two men with broken legs. Dr. and
Mrs. Quales were the last to remain on the scene and escaped with their lives
in an express wagon which they commandeered. The keys of the old Marine
Hospital are still preserved in the Quales family as a memento of the
conflagration.
Dr. Quales was born in Hardanger, Norway, January 17, 1831. He was
graduated from the Royal Veterinary College in Copenhagen in 1856, and
came to Chicago in 1859.
He entered the Union Army in 1861 and by General Sherman was placed
in charge of the Veterinary Hospital at Nashville, where he began the
study of medicine and served until the expiration of his enlistment.
Graduating from Rush Medical College in 1866, he became one of the first
internes at Cook County Hospital. He was City Physician from 1868 to 1870
and had charge of the smallpox hospital in the epidemic of that time. There-
after he was made head of the United States Marine Hospital.
In 1892 he helped to organize the Tabitha Hospital and in 1896 he aided
in the establishment of the Lutheran Deaconess Home and Hospital. For
many years he was attending physician at these institutions.
He was one of the founders of the Norwegian Old People's Home at Nor-
wood Park. In 1910 he was made a knight of the order of St. Olaf by King
Haakon of Norway.
He died May 23, 1914.
RALPH NELSON ISHAM
(1831-1904)
By performing a tracheotomy for quinsy on a son of the leading Presby-
terian minister, Dr. Ralph Nelson Isham made his professional start in
Chicago. Though this locally unheard of proceeding was vehemently opposed
by many of the pious parishioners as a direct interference with the ways of
providence, Dr. Isham's successful handling of the case gave him immediate
prestige.
Dr. Isham was born at Mannheim, New York, March 16, 1831. He was
educated at Herkimer Academy, Little Falls, N. Y., and was graduated from
the Medical College of Bellevue Hospital, New York City, in 1854. After a
trip abroad for post-graduate work he settled in Chicago in 1855. When the
88 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
City Hospital building- was erected at Eighteenth and Arnold streets in 1856,
Dr. Isham became a member of its medical staff. In 1859 he joined Doctors
N. S. Davis, David Rutter, Hosmer A. Johnson, William H. Byford, John H.
Hollister and Edmund Andrews in establishing the Chicago Medical College.
For many years he held the chair of surgery and anatomy in that institution.
In 1857 Dr. Isham married Miss Katherine Snow, daughter of George W.
Snow; their children were Dr. George S. Isham, Ralph Isham, Mrs. A. L.
Farwell and Mrs. George A. Carpenter.
At the outbreak of the civil war Dr. Isham became a contract surgeon and
was one of the organizers of the United States Sanitary Commission. He
went twice to the battle zone in its interest. In 1862 he was appointed
surgeon in chief of the Marine Hospital which had become, temporarily, a
military hospital. Upon reversion to its original purpose, Dr. Isham con-
tinued in charge of the institution until the late seventies.
Dr. Isham was chief surgeon of the Chicago and Northwestern Railway
Company, consulting surgeon of the Cook County, Presbyterian and Passa-
vant hospitals, and surgeon; with the rank of major, of the First Regiment,
Illinois National Guard. Dr. Isham was a delegate to the International
Medical Congress which met at London in 1881. He was a member of the
American Medical Association, the Illinois State and Chicago Medical so-
cieties. He received an honorary degree from the University of the City of
New York and from Northwestern University.
Dr. Isham died May 28, 1904.
REUBEN LUDLAM
(1831-1899)
Dean and later president of Hahnemann Medical College, senior professor
of gynecology in that institution, head of the staff of Hahnemann Hospital,
president of the American Institute of Homeopathy and for fifteen years
member of the Illinois State Board of Health, Dr. Reuben Ludlam is an out-
standing figure in the medical history of Chicago.
With Dr. David S. Smith, Dr. Ludlam drafted the charter of Hahnemann
Medical College in the office of Abraham Lincoln and for nearly half a cen-
tury he was one of the strongest protagonists of homeopathy in the west.
Dr. Ludlam was born in Camden, Newr Jersey, October 7, 1831. His
father, Dr. Jacob Ludlam, was a successful physician and all the traditions
of the family were in a professional line. As a child, he accompanied his
father in his daily round of visits and on his long drives and his only ambi-
tion, as he expressed it, was to become as great and useful a man as his
father.
The son attended the academy at Bridgeton, New Jersey, from which he
was graduated with the highest honors. On leaving school, he began a sys-
tematic course of medical study under the supervision of his father and sub-
sequently entered the University of Pennsylvania, from which he received
his diploma in 1852. Soon after graduation he came to Chicago and entered
upon the practice of his profession.
Dr. Ludlam's father was an allopathic practitioner. Reuben Ludlam had
been educated in an allopathic school and he practiced allopathy, but the
success of homeopathic physicians in the treatment of cholera so impressed
him that he was forced to investigate its teachings and, being convinced of
the truth of the new theory, he cast aside his old beliefs and became a home-
opathic practitioner.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 89
In 1853 Dr. Ludlam associated himself with Dr. David S. Smith, and from
that time on, Dr. Ludlam actively co-operated with every plan that was
formed to advance the cause of homeopathy. In 1853, Dr. Shipman started
the "Chicago Homeopath" and a year later Dr. Ludlam, at the age of 23,
became its editor.
In 1859, Hahnemann Medical College was organized and in the list of the
first faculty appears the name of R. Ludlam, M. D., professor of physiology,
pathology and clinical medicine.
For twenty-five years, from 1866 to 1891, he was dean of Hahnemann Medi-
cal College, presided at the meetings of its faculty and labored to his utmost
for its success. Upon the death of Dr. Smith in 1891, Dr. Ludlam was elected
president of the board of trustees, which position he occupied at the time
of his death.
At various times he held the presidency of the American Institute of
Homeopathy, the Chicago Academy of Homeopathy, the Illinois Homeopathic
Medical Society, the Western Institute of Homeopathy and the Clinical
Society. He was an honorary member of neary every state homeopathic
organization, as well as those of several foreign countries. When the Illinois
State Board of Health was organized in 1877, Dr. Ludlam was called upon
by Governor Cullom to serve his state and for fifteen years he was an active
member of that body.
Besides having been editor of the "Chicago Homeopath," Dr. Ludlam was
associated editorially with the "North American Journal of Homeopathy,"
the "United States Medical and Surgical Journal" and the "Clinique." His
work, "Clinical and Didactic Lectures on Diseases of Women," was published
in 1871 and passed through seven editions.
Dr. Ludlam was twice married. His first wife, who was Anna M. Porter,
died three years after their marriage. Several years later he married Miss
Harriet V. Parvin, who, with his son, Reuben Ludlam, survived him.
"A bare recital of the positions held by Dr. Ludlam and the honors con-
ferred upon him," says a commentator, "can give no adequate idea of the
great influence exerted by him upon every one with whom he came in con-
tact or of the value of his life and teachings to the cause of homeopathy.
Tall of stature, of fine bearing, with irreproachable manners, courteous and
affable in his intercourse with patients and brother practitioners, cultivated
of speech, vigorous of thought, endowed with a fine literary sense, he could
not but be a leader wherever he was placed. To a new sect struggling for
a place, the possession of such a man was an unanswerable argument to the
cry of 'knave or fool' so frequently applied to the homeopathic practitioner.
His very presence at a mixed medical gathering gave a dignity to the school
and prevented indulgence in vituperation and his liberality of statement
disarmed antagonism and builded for harmony. He believed that home-
opathy would build for itself a place not by town meetings and denunciations
of an opposing system, but by the improvement of the medical schools, by
a proper education of its practitioners, by exemplification in the daily life
of the physicians of the beneficial influence of the system and by observing
the amenities of life."
On April 29, 1899, Dr. Ludlam was suddenly stricken while in the act of
making a hysterectomy for the removal of a fibroid tumor. He died almost
immediately.
90
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
JOSEPH SULLIVAN HILDRETH
ROSWELL GRISWOLD BOGUE
GEORGE KERSHAW AMERMAN EDWARD OSCAR FITZALAN ROLER
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 91
SWAYNE WICKERSHAM
(1831-1895)
President of the Chicago Medical Society in civil war days, organizer of
hospital forces sent to the front and commissioner of health of the city of
Chicago were some of the conspicuous roles played by Dr. Swayne Wicker-
sham during his residence of forty years in this city.
Of Quaker antecedents, he was born near West Chester, Pennsylvania, in
October, 1831. After a course at Ganses Academy, Unionville, Pennsylvania,
he pursued the study of medicine under Dr. John Grove of Lancaster. He
was graduated from Jefferson Medical College in 1855, and proceeded at once
to Chicago, where he began practice.
He became president of the Chicago Medical Society in 1862 and, during
the war of the rebellion, his religious convictions preventing active participa-
tion, he was active in the formation of hospital detachments that were sent
to the combat zone. He also collected commissary supplies for the soldiers
in the field and was one of a committee to go south to distribute these supplies.
A supporter of the elder Carter Harrison, he was elected alderman from the
first ward and re-elected for a second term, during which he was chairman of
the finance committee of the Council.
Mayor Cregier appointed Dr. Wickersham commissioner of health in 1889.
Dr. Wickersham died April 16, 1895.
JOSEPH SULLIVAN HILDRETH
(1832-1870)
Pupil of Virchow and Des Marres and surgeon in charge of the military
eye and ear hospital in Chicago during the Civil War days, Dr. Joseph
Sullivan Hildreth was a pioneer ophthalmologist in this city.
Dr. Hildreth was born in Cohasset, Norfolk County, Mass., May 1, 1832.
He was graduated from the medical department of the University of Penn-
sylvania in 1856 and went immediately to Europe to continue his studies.
His preceptor in Berlin was the great Virchow and, in Paris, Dr. Des Marres,
of whose eye and ear institute he was made superintendent.
Returning to the United States, Dr. Hildreth proceeded to Detroit, where
in June, 1862, he married Miss Mary Elizabeth Howard, daughter of Jacob
M. Howard, then United States Senator from Michigan. Dr. Hildreth was
soon summoned to Washington, where, under the direction of the Surgeon
General, he established a hospital for the treatment of soldiers afflicted with
diseases of the eye and ear.
Later Dr. Hildreth \va& commissioned Surgeon of the United States
Volunteers with station at Chicago. His mission was to put into operation
an eye and ear hospital similar to the institution in Washington. The old
City Hospital was commandeered for the purpose. He named the establish-
ment Des Marres Hospital after his former preceptor.
He was the first professor of ophthalmology and otology in the Chicago
Medical College. He held that position at the time of his death.
Dr. Hildreth, who had acquired a large income from his practice, resided
in a dwelling in Michigan Avenue where the Pullman building stands. His
death came suddenly July 22, 1870, as the result of an overdose of gelsemin.
92 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
R O S W E L L G R I S W O L D B O G U E
(1832-1893)
Medical director in two divisions of the Union Army and one of the or-
ganizers of the Cook County Hospital, Dr. Roswell Griswold Bogue was
twice president of the Chicago Medical Society.
Dr. Bogue was born in Louisville, St. Lawrence County, New York, May 2,
1832. After attending the Academy in Castleton, Vt., he taught school. He
read medicine in Columbus, Ohio, and then entered the College of Physicians
and Surgeons in New York City, where he was graduated in the winter of
1856-57.
In 1857 Dr. Bogue located in Chicago and was absorbed in his practice
when the Civil War supervened. On August 5, 1861, Dr. Bogue was com-
missioned as a major and assigned as surgeon of the Nineteenth Illinois Vol-
unteer Infantry. He served with that organization until March, 1863, when
he was appointed medical director of the Second Division of the Fourteenth
Army Corps. When the Army of the Cumberland was reorganized in Octo-
ber, 1863, he was transferred to the Third Division of the Fourteenth Army
Corps as medical director. He was present with this command at the battles
of Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Missionary Ridge and Buzzard's Roost.
Dr. Bogue's friends believed that eyestrain incurred during numerous
operations performed in the field by the flickering light of torches and candles
laid the foundation for the blindness that afflicted him years afterward.
Upon being mustered out of the service Dr. Bogue returned to Chicago and
resumed practice. He was one of the organizers of Cook County Hospital
and for thirteen years was one of its attending surgeons.
Dr. Bogue was the first professor of surgery of the Woman's Medical Col-
lege and was also consulting surgeon for both Presbyterian and St. Joseph's
hospitals. He was elected president of the Chicago Medical Society in 1869
and again in 1880.
During the last years of his life Dr. Bogue was totally blind. He died
December 8, 1893.
GEORGE KERSHAW AMERMAN
(1832-1867)
Coadjutor of Dr. Joseph Presley Ross in the founding of Cook County Hos-
pital, Dr. George Kershaw Amerman was active in Chicago as a teacher and
practitioner.
He was born near Marcellus, New York, July 12, 1832. After his gradua-
tion from the medical department of the University of the City of New York
in 1854, Dr. Amerman devoted two years to clinical study in Bellevue Hos-
pital and in European hospitals.
With an early preceptor, Dr. Joel R. Gore, Dr. Amerman came to Chicago
in 1856. He was elected to membership in the Chicago Medical Society and
in 1858 was a delegate to the convention of the Illinois State Medical Society.
Dr. Amerman married Miss Sarah Matilda Lovelace October 19, 1858. He
was a member of the clinical staff of Rush Medical College, delivering lectures
at the City Hospital. Later he was quiz master on surgery at Rush Medical
College. From the City Hospital was evolved the Cook County Hospital, in
the foundation of which Dr. Amerman gave strong support to Dr. Ross.
Dr. Amerman was a member of the staff of Cook County Hospital but a
year when he died, June 2, 1867, a victim of tuberculosis. His wife had died
of the same ailment but a short time before.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 93
EDWARD OSCAR FITZALAN ROLER
(1833-1907)
Medical director of an army corps in the Civil War, student in the hospitals
of Vienna and Berlin and associate of Dr. W. H. Byford, Dr. Edward Oscar
Fitzalan Roler was a leading obstetrician in Chicago for more than forty
years.
He was born at Winchester, Va., March 6, 1833. His family having, moved
to Indiana, he received his academic education at De Pauw University, where
he was awarded the degree of Master of Arts, and in 1859 he was graduated
from Rush Medical College.
At the outbreak of the Civil War he entered the Union Army as assistant
surgeon of the Forty-second Illinois Volunteers and was soon advanced to
the duties of surgeon of the Fifty-fifth Illinois Volunteers. Subsequently he
served on the staff of General William T. Sherman when he was a corps
commander and later on the staff of General John A. Logan, acting as medical
director of the Fifteenth Army Corps.
After the war Dr. Roler devoted a year to study in the hospitals of Vienna
and Berlin. In the latter city he met Miss Doretta J. Doering, daughter of
Rev. C. H. Doering, superintendent of the Methodist Missions of Germany.
They were married at Berea, Ohio, in 1867. Dr. Roler then returned to
Chicago and resumed practice.
In 1868, jointly with Dr. W. H. Byford, his preceptor in medicine, Dr. Roler
was appointed professor of obstetrics and diseases of women and children in
the Chicago Medical College. He held this position for many years. Dr.
Roler was a member of the American Medical Association, the Illinois State
and Chicago Medical societies and the Loyal Legion. He was for two years
surgeon at the United States Marine Hospital.
Dr. Roler retired from practice three years before his death, which oc-
curred April 18, 1907. A son, Dr. Albert H. Roler of Evanston, followed his
father in the practice of medicine.
LEMUEL CONANT GROSVENOR
(1833-1914)
Once master of "the oldest free school in the United States," Dr. Lemuel
Conant Grosvenor was in later years one of the leading homeopathic physi-
cians in Chicago.
He was born at Paxton, Mass., March 22, 1833, a son of Silas N. and
Mary A. Grosvenor. He was a graduate of Williston Seminary at East Hamp-
shire and the high school of Worcester, Mass. After teaching in a pioneer dis-
trict school in Wisconsin, to which his parents had moved when he was seven-
teen years old, he taught in several schools in Massachusetts, being for two
years head master of the Mather School of Dorchester, said to be the oldest
free school in the country.
Dr. Grosvenor received his medical degree from the Cleveland (Ohio)
Homeopathic Medical College in 1864. He practiced medicine in Peoria, 111.,
from 1864 to 1868 and at Galesburg, 111., from 1868 to 1870. He then moved
to Chicago, where he practiced until his retirement in 1907.
With the organization of the Chicago Homeopathic Medical College in
1876, he was chosen lecturer on the theory and practice of medicine and the
chair of sanitary science was created for him. He was connected with this
institution until 1899, when he became professor emeritus of obstetrics and
sanitary science at Hahnemann Medical College.
94
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
LEMUEL CONANT GROSVENOR
FRANCIS LIBBY WADSWORTH
THEODORE A. EDWIN KLEBS
GEORGE ALEXANDER HALL
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 95
He was a member of the American Institute of Homeopathy and for three
terms was president of the Chicago Academy of Homeopathic Physicians and
Surgeons. He was also president of the American Paidological Society,
1864-67.
On February 27, 1865, Dr. Grosvenor married Miss Ellen M. Prouty of
Dorchester, Mass., who died in 1874. He married Miss Naomi Josephine
Bassett of Taunton, Mass., June 25, 1877. A son of the first marriage, Dr.
Wallace F. Grosvenor, is a practicing physician in Chicago.
After his retirement in 1907, Dr. Grosvenor moved to Taunton, Mass.,
where he died July 17, 1914.
FRANCIS LIBBY WADSWORTH
(1833-1891)
Pupil and associate of Doctors J. V. Z. Blaney and Joseph W. Freer, Dr.
Francis Libby Wadsworth was active in the affairs of Rush Medical College
and the Woman's Medical College.
He was born in Hiram, Oxford County, Maine, June 18, 1833. Ancestors
were General Peleg Wadsworth of the Revolutionary war and General
William Wadsworth of the War of 1812.
Dr. Wadsworth worked on a farm until he was seventeen. He then
engaged in commercial and newspaper work until 1864. Entering upon the
study of medicine, he was graduated from Rush Medical College in 1869.
During his senior year he was assistant to Dr. Blaney in his chemical labora-
tory and to Dr. Freer in his physiological laboratory.
Upon graduation Dr. Wadsworth began his practice in the office of Dr.
Freer and upon the death of the latter he was appointed lecturer on physiology
and histology in the spring course at Rush Medical College. He occupied that
position from 1870 to 1880. In 1880 and 1881 he was adjunct professor of phy-
siology. From 1880 until 1888 he was professor of physiology and histology in
the Woman's Medical College, where he was advanced to the chair of theory
and practice of medicine, which position he held at the time of his death.
For several years he had been physician in charge of St. Joseph's Hospital.
Dr. Wadsworth was first married in 1868, but two years later his wife died.
In 1872 he married Miss F. Robinson of Rhode Island, who, with their son
Charles Freer Wadsworth, now a dental surgeon of Chicago, survived him.
Dr. Wadsworth died August 26, 1891.
THEODORE A. EDWIN KLEBS
(1834-1913)
"One of the most original spirits in modern medicine, a great pioneer of
the bacterial theory of infection, a pupil of Virchow, a contemporary of
Pasteur, and, in a very definite sense, the inspirer of Koch."
This has been written concerning Dr. Edwin Klebs, as he was generally
known, who spent several of his most active years in Chicago, where he
exerted an influence in pathological study and practice.
Born in Konigsberg, Germany, February 6, 1834, Dr. Klebs from 1855 to
1857 pursued his studies in his native place and at Jena, Wiirzburg and
Berlin. These led him to enter the scientific and medical province in which
he became noted.
The famous Virchow was professor of pathology at Wiirzburg when Dr.
Klebs was a student there and from 1861 to 1866 he served as assistant to
96
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
HENRY MERCKLE
GUSTAV HESSERT
GAYLORD D. BEEBE
OSCAR COLEMAN DE WOLF
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 97
the noted teacher. The following- six years were spent by Dr. -Klebs as
professor of general pathology and pathological anatomy in the University
of Bern.
In 1872-73 he held the chair of his former teacher, Virchow, in the Uni-
versity of Wiirzburg. There followed nine years as professor of pathologi-
cal anatomy in the University of Prague, and from 1882 to 1891 he held
the same chair in the University of Zurich.
After twenty-five years of teaching service he resigned in 1891, intending
to devote his time to scientific investigation. But in 1894 he accepted an
invitation of Dr. Karl von Ruck, then director of the Winyah Sanitarium
for diseases of the lungs and throat at Ashville, North Carolina, to visit the
institution, where he remained for several months.
In 1896 he was prevailed upon to occupy the chair of pathology in Rush
Medical College in Chicago, where he remained until 1900. After his serv-
ice at Rush he returned to Europe, living at Dortmund and Bern, where he
died in 1913.
In 1867 Dr. Klebs married Miss Rosa Brossenbacher. Three children lived
to maturity, one of whom is Dr. Arnold C. Klebs.
As a pioneer in the study of infectious diseases, Dr. Klebs preceded Pas-
teur and Koch. He was first to see and describe the bacillus of typhoid
fever and that of diphtheria. All through the early literature on bacteriology
his name is frequently seen. While he was a master in pathological anat-
omy, he realized that post-mortem findings were only end-results.
GEORGE ALEXANDER HALL
(1834-1893)
Dr. George Alexander Hall was born in Sheridan, Chautauqua County,
New York, June 5, 1834. He was educated at Fredonia and Westfield acade-
mies, New York. In 1850 he began the study of medicine with Dr. L. M.
Kenyon at Westfield. In 1852 he attended medical lectures at Berkshire
Medical College, Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Three years later he went to
Philadelphia, where he took clinical courses at Jefferson Medical College
and Blockley Hospital and didactic courses at the Pennsylvania Medical
College, from which he was graduated in 1856.
He then returned to Westfield and began the practice of medicine. In
1857 he married Miss Frances S. Sherman. In 1872 he moved to Chicago
and the following year he was elected to the faculty of the Hahnemann Medi-
cal College. During a period of nearly twenty years, he was successively
professor of surgical pathology and surgical anatomy, of obstetrics and of
clinical and operative surgery. He was also surgeon-in-chief of Hahnemann
Hospital and general surgeon of the Chicago Surgical Institute, which he
founded March 1, 1881.
He died April 4, 1893.
HENRY MERCKLE
(1835-1898)
In 1854 the cholera plague made one of its frequently recurring visits to
Chicago. Its ravages at this time were particularly severe. Ten persons
died of the epidemic in one night in a house in the neighborhood of State
Street and Hubbard Court. Henry Merckle lived there and his harrowing
experience convinced him of the need for more physicians in Chicago. He
98 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
decided to become one himself. He did so and for more than thirty years was
a practitioner in the district where cholera had taken such heavy toll. .
Dr. Merckle was born January 8, 1835 in Ebenkoben, Bavaria. He re-
ceived his early education in his native town, after which he attended the
Gymnasium in Speier, Germany, where he prepared himself for the drug
trade.
In 1853 he came to Chicago and entered the drug store of his brother-in-law,
Dr. Mahla, at the corner of State Street and Hubbard Court, which was at
that time on the outskirts of the town. The district had no public water
supply and the residents had to carry water from the lake. The following
year came the cholera epidemic which prompted Dr. Merckle to study
medicine.
He returned to Germany and entered the University of Wiirzburg. After
graduating from the institution, he proceeded to the University of Vienna,
where he pursued special branches. Having thus spent nearly six years in
preparation for medical practice, he returned to Chicago, where he opened
an office at what was then 377 State Street. Here he followed his profession
for more than thirty years, devoting much of his time to charity work.
In 1875 he married Miss Elsie Stein.
Ill health compelled Dr. Merckle to retire in 1893. He died September 22,
1898, survived by his widow and two daughters, Mrs. Marie Weber and Mrs.
Meta M. Pfeiffer. A third daughter, Mrs. Frida Gail, had died previously in
Konstanz, Germany.
GUSTAV HESSERT
(1835-1909)
Student at the universities of Prague, Vienna and Wiirzburg, Dr. Gustav
Hessert was a distinguished pathologist and practitioner in Chicago for
forty years.
Dr. Hessert was born in. Landau, Germany, March 12, 1835. When he
completed his preliminary education in the gymnasium, he studied medicine
in the Universities of Prague and Wiirzburg. He received his degree from
the last named institution in 1858. After serving5 as assistant at the Wiirz-
burg Policlinic for several years, Dr. Hessert engaged in active practice.
In 1862 Dr. Hessert married Miss Marie Geys of Wiirzburg. Six years
later he proceeded to the United States, coming directly to Chicago. He
first located in Archer Avenue near Twenty-second Street. In 1876 he
moved to the north side. Dr. Hessert was an internist and, owing to his
knowledge of pathology and diagnosis, his advice was much valued in con-
sultation.
During the late seventies Dr. Hessert was a member of the medical staff
of Cook County Hospital and soon after the organization of the German
Hospital he was made a member of its medical service. He continued in
that capacity for twenty years.
Dr. Hessert died April 9, 1909. He was survived by his widow and three
sons, Frederick, Gustav and Dr. William Hessert.
GAYLORD D. BEEBE
(1835-1877)
Zealot in the cause of homeopathy, surgeon under Generals Halleck, Grant
and Thomas, teacher and originator of surgical methods, Dr. Gaylord D.
Beebe was a leading practitioner in Chicago.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 99
He was born at Palmyra, Wayne County, New York, May 28, 1835. His
father, a farmer in indigent circumstances, opposed the son's desire for
knowledge. Encouraged by his mother, he attended Genesee Wesleyan Semi-
nary when 17 years of age. Later by performing manual labor, he maintained
himself at Union College, where he pursued his courses to the junior year.
This was followed by a course of medical study in the office of Dr. L. N.
Pratt of Albany, New York. Here he also attended the full course required
by the Albany Medical College, but, being under age as well as in straitened
circumstances, he could not apply for the degree. He proceeded to Phila-
delphia and after a full course was graduated at the Homeopathic Medical
College of Pennsylvania in 1857.
At this institution he was invited to become a beneficiary of the dean of
the faculty, who had learned of his pecuniary circumstances. He declined
this offer and struggled along, obtaining whatever hospital and clinical
instruction was then available in Philadelphia.
Dr. Beebe then came west and located in Chicago, May 1, 1857, and became
associated with Dr. Alvan E. Small. In 1858 he was chosen to fill the chair
of anatomy in Hahnemann Medical College. He accepted and held the posi-
tion until the Civil War supervened.
At the outbreak of the war, President Lincoln commissioned him as brigade
surgeon, but when he presented himself before the members of the state
medical board, they declined to examine him. Dr. Beebe then procured an
order from President Lincoln directing the board to examine him. He
passed the examination and received the appointment.
At this time, Dr. Beebe encountered opposition in his effort to secure
recognition of homeopathy by the United States government and its intro-
duction generally into the military service. This opposition he was unable
to overcome.
Now a recognized army surgeon, he was ordered by the Surgeon General
to duty with a brigade under General Hunter in Kansas. Subsequently
he served under Generals Halleck, Grant and Thomas. He was medical
director of the Fourteenth Army Corps under General Thomas, by whom he
was cited for especially distinguished service at Murphreesboro.
In April, 1863, Dr. Beebe was compelled to resign his commission on
account of ill health. Returning to Chicago, he resumed practice until 1868,
when his chronic cardiac affection recurred. This caused him to relinquish
his practice until 1874.
In the spring of 1877 dilatation of the heart, with which he had been long
afflicted, prostrated him. He died April 11, 1877.
In 1863 he married Miss Mary Brewster of Erie, Pennsylvania, who sur-
vived him.
Dr. Beebe was said to be the first to use sulpho-carbolate of sodium as a
preventive in scarlet fever. He is also credited with being the first to intro-
duce the method of torsion in ovarian diseases in place of the old clamps
and ligatures.
His most successful operation was one where strangulated hernia had
produced mortification of the abdominal viscera. In the operation a large
quantity of the viscera was excised. In commenting upon this case, the
London Lancet said, "Since this operation, life is never to be despaired of in
any circumstances."
100 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
OSCAR COLEMAN DE WOLF
(1835-1910)
Victor in a prolonged and bitter campaign to drive the packing houses
beyond what were then the city limits, first to require warning cards in cases
of diphtheria and scarlet fever, first to establish in Chicago a public labora-
tory for the analysis of water supply and food, Dr. Oscar Coleman DeWolf
was Commissioner of Health in this city for twelve years.
Of him his biographer, Dr. Arthur R. Reynolds, says : "His administration
of his office was characterized by courage, vigor, progress, intelligence and
dignity. It gained for him a national and international reputation. He was
frequently consulted by other communities and was in his day the most
conspicuous health officer in the country."
Dr. DeWolf was born at Chester Center, Mass., August 8, 1835. He
studied at the Berkshire Medical College of Pittsfield, Mass., and at the
University of the City of New York, from both of which institutions he
received degrees. In 1860 he completed a two years' course under famous
doctors in Paris and returned to America to enter the Union Army. He was
present at some of the most important engagements of the Civil War.
From 1866 to 1874 Dr. DeWolf engaged in the practice of medicine at
Northampton, Mass., where he married Miss Harriet Lyman in 1867. On
January 29, 1877, he was appointed Health Commissioner by Mayor Monroe
Heath on recommendation of Dr. Bowditch of Boston.
Promptly upon his accession Dr. DeWolf attacked the scarlet fever and
diphtheria problem by enforcing requirements as to warning cards.
The packing houses scattered throughout the city had become a menace
to public health. Offal was dumped into the river or the lake. Packing
houses on the south branch gave off their odors unrestrained. Dr. DeWolf
started to clean the Augean Stables. He met with determined opposition
and continued reverses in the courts. Finally he prevailed and the packers
were forced to remove beyond Thirty-ninth street, then the southern boun-
dary of the city.
Valuable work in investigation of the prevalence of trichinae in pork was
begun in 1878 and it was pointed out with clearness that cooking destroyed
the trichinae and that there was no trouble from trichinosis in human beings
except among those who ate raw pork.
The first laboratory in the department of health was established by Dr.
DeWolf in 1880. In 1881 the laboratory efficiently supplemented the ordi-
nance for suppression of the smoke nuisance. In the first report of the work
of the chemist principles of combustion were laid down that are as sound
today as they were then.
Workshop and factory inspection were carried on vigorously. Annually
a learned and instructive study was made as to the causes of death and their
relation to unsanitary conditions as well as their relation to meteorological
conditions.
Dr. DeWolf lent his effort to the preliminary work leading up to enactment
of the law establishing the Sanitary District of Chicago.
Dr. DeWolf served as Health Commissioner until 1889. In 1892 he opened
in London an establishment for the treatment of inebriates. From this he
made a fortune. In 1903 he returned to his old home in Chester Center,
Mass., where he died March 28, 1910.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 101
ISAAC NEWTON DANFORTH
(1835-1911)
Distinguished pathologist and practitioner and the main factor in the or-
ganization of Wesley Hospital, Dr. Isaac Newton Danforth was for forty-five
years active in the professional and civic life of Chicago.
He was born in Barnard, Vermont, November 5, 1835, and was graduated
from Dartmouth Medical School in 1862. From this school he received
the honorary degree of A. M. in 1881. After four years of practice in Green-
field, New Hampshire, Dr. Danforth served for a short time as interne at the
Hartford (Connecticut) Retreat for the Insane.
He came to Chicago in 1866 and here on June 9, 1869, married Miss Eliza-
beth Skelton, whom he met at the Centenary Methodist Church, of which he
was a member for many years.
He was appointed an instructor in chemistry in Rush Medical College in
1868, lecturer on pathology in 1871 and president of the spring faculty in
1873. In 1881 he became professor of pathology. During this period he was
pathologist at St. Luke's Hospital, thereafter becoming attending physician,
remaining upon the active staff for twenty-five years. He was then, made
an honorary member of the staff, which position he held for fifteen years
longer. He was one of the first in Chicago and the Northwest to use the
microscope in pathology.
As professor of pathology he went to the Chicago Medical College in 1882.
He continued as a member of the faculty for nineteen years, during a large
part of this time as professor of internal medicine. For many years also he
was active in the work of the Woman's Medical College of Northwestern
University, serving as dean of the faculty for four years.
He was chief of the medical staff of Wesley Hospital for the first ten
years of its existence. For many years he was pathologist to the Cook
County Hospital and consulting physician to various other hospitals in Chi-
cago. Besides holding membership in many societies, he was president of the
Chicago Pathological Society and first president of the Society of Medical
History of Chicago.
Following the death of his wife in 1895 he married Mrs. Mary A. Barnes,
June 7, 1898.
He was a frequent contributor to medical literature. In later years his
writings were devoted chiefly to medical history and biography. His life of
Nathan S. Davis was published in 1907.
In 1909 he founded a medical missionary hospital in Kiukiang, China, in
honor of his first wife.
Dr. Danforth died May 5, 1911. A son, Dr. William C. Danforth of Evans-
ton, born of his first wife, had chosen medicine as his profession several years
before the father's death.
HENRY MUNSON LYMAN
(1835-1904)
"One of the most erudite men in the medical profession," is the way Dr.
Harold N. Moyer has characterized Dr. Henry Munson Lyman, army sur-
geon, professor at Rush Medical College and distinguished practitioner.
He was born in Hawaii, November 26, 1835. He was graduated from Wil-
liams College in 1858, receiving the degree of A. B. and in 1880, that of A. M.
His first year of medical study was at Harvard, but he was graduated from
102
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
ISAAC NEWTON DANFORTH
HENRY MUNSON LYMAN
FRANCIS WILLIAM REILLY
SAMUEL J. JONES
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 103
the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York City, in 1861. After a
year as house surgeon at Bellevue Hospital, Dr. Lyman entered the medical
service of the United States Army and was assigned to duty at Nashville.
He resigned in 1863, and in October of that year he came to Chicago.
In the winter session of 1865-66, Dr. Lyman was quiz master in Rush
Medical College; lecturer on physiology in the spring course, 1866-69; pro-
fessor of chemistry and pharmacy, 1871-77; professor of physiology and dis-
eases of the nervous system, 1877-1900; and professor of the principles and
practice of medicine, 1890-1900. He was also treasurer of the college.
From 1880 to 1888, he held the chair of the principles and practice of medi-
cine in the Woman's Medical College. He was attending physician at Cook
County Hospital from 1867 to 1876. Beginning in 1884, he was a member of
the medical staff of the Presbyterian Hospital and consulting physician to St.
Joseph's Hospital and the Hospital for Women and Children. He was a
member of the local and national medical societies and in 1876, president of
the Chicago Pathological Society, president of the Association of American
Physicians in 1891, and of the American Neurological Association in 1892.
Dr. Lyman was the author of a number of medical works and as author
and teacher was highly esteemed.
Failing health compelled his retirement from all professional work in 1900.
He died November 21, 1904.
Of Dr. Lyman, Dr. Harold N. Moyer says :
"Dr. Lyman was one of the most erudite men in the medical profession.
To read a thing was to remember it, and, as he was an omnivorous reader, his
mind was stored with copious knowledge of the literature of medicine. He
had an accurate reading knowledge of the French, German and Italian lan-
guages and could translate these into perfect English with the same rapidity
that he would read English. His mind was essentially scholarly with a
distinct classical bias. He wrote pure Addisonian English. As a research
worker and clinician his contributions were not conspicuous, but his great
attainments permitted him to bring a wealth of illustration and erudition to
the adornment of every topic that he touched."
FRANCIS WILLIAM REILLY
(1836-1909)
"The decreased death rate in Chicago is his living monument."
This was said of Dr. Francis William Reilly when he died, leaving behind
him a record of beneficence as a sanitarian and philanthropist.
Apt tribute to his career came from Dr. William A. Evans, some time
commissioner of health : "He led in all of the fights for better things in
living, in his powerful health sermons. His work against sewage-laden water,
smallpox, yellow fever and diphtheria all helped, but it was mainly as a
preacher of health sermons that he won his proud position as Chicago's most
useful citizen."
Born in Bolton, England, January 11, 1836, Dr. Reilly, who signed his
name Frank W. Reilly, was brought to America by his parents in early child-
hood and was educated in Philadelphia and Charleston, South Carolina. In
1855-56 he attended lectures at Rush Medical College and became assistant in
the laboratory of Dr. James V. Z. Blaney. He was graduated from the
Chicago Medical College in 1861.
In the civil war Dr. Reilly gained his first distinction. As surgeon of the
Forty-fifth Illinois Volunteer Infantry he had been wounded at Shiloh, but on
104 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
convalescence, returned to the front and, during the remainder of his service,
established general hospitals under the direction of Generals Grant, Sherman
and Logan.
After the war he returned to Chicago. His sanitary work began in 1867
with his appointment by Dr. John H. Ranch as sanitary inspector for Chicago.
This was followed by newspaper work until 1873. From that time until 1875
he was surgeon in the United States Marine Hospital Service. In 1874 the
service published his work on "The Nomenclature of Diseases." In 1876 he
was surgeon of the port of Cincinnati until July 1, when he resigned. During
his service he made investigations and reports on immigrant travel and on
the Asiatic cholera and the yellow fever epidemic.
During the summer of 1878 the south was ravaged by an epidemic of yellow
fever. A national relief boat was fitted out at St. Louis with medical and
other supplies for stricken regions down the Mississippi. Grave risks were
involved and volunteers were called for. Among the first to enlist was
Dr. Reilly, who joined the expedition as a representative of the Chicago Com-
mittee and as correspondent of the Chicago Times. In less than ten days
after the boat had proceeded on its heroic mission the leader of the expedition
died in the arms of Dr. Reilly, who carried on under the most desperate
conditions.
In 1879 he was appointed sanitary inspector of the Mississippi Valley with
station at Island No. 1 and later at Memphis. So well was his work done at
the former post that importations of yellow fever into Illinois were stopped
completely. In Memphis he made a sanitary survey that resulted in the
creation of a new water supply and a comprehensive drainage system. The
sum of his effort has been referred to as the "sanitary regeneration" of
Memphis.
In November, 1881, he was appointed assistant secretary of the Illinois
State Board of Health and the annual report, which he continued to write
until his retirement from the service of the board in 1893, attracted nation
wide attention.
In July, 1885, Dr. Reilly became an editorial writer on the Chicago Morn-
ing News, of which he was later managing editor. He was the first "Swat
the Fly Advocate."
In the Morning News he fought vigorously for drastic reform in drainage
and water supply, and did much toward establishing the comprehensive
system that Chicago now enjoys. He also founded the Daily News Sani-
tarium for sick babies. This was a notable phase of Dr. Reilly's effort to
reduce infant mortality in Chicago. From 1887, when the sanitarium was
founded, to 1907 the deaths of children under five years were diminished
thirty per cent.
Through the help of Mayor John P. Hopkins, Health Commissioner
Arthur R. Reynolds secured funds which made possible the appointment of
Dr. Reilly as assistant health commissioner in 1895. In his new office Dr.
Reilly developed the use of diphtheria anti-toxin.
Dr. Reilly's health bulletins were world famous. In them he inspired popu-
lar interest in sanitary measures and he made statistics serve the public to
the last fraction. The London Lancet frequently reproduced the bulletins
and gave them unstinted praise. Newspapers throughout the country copied
them. No other single item of public health work was so far-reaching in its
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 105
benefits. He was assistant health commissioner until his death, December
16, 1909.
Of him a commentator has said, "He has done more to promote Chicago's
health, cleanliness, and consequently, happiness, than any other single
citizen."
On June 9, 1862, Dr. Reilly married Miss Alice Mary Kennicott, daughter
of Dr. John A. Kennicott, who with three sons, survived him. They are
Frank Kennicott Reilly, a Chicago publisher; Leigh Reilly, formerly manag-
ing editor of the Chicago Evening Post and the Chicago Herald, and
Rodolphe Ransom Reilly of New York City. A daughter, Cora Frances, wife
of Edward S. Beck, now managing editor of the Chicago Tribune, and a son,
Robert Kennicott Reilly, died in 1899.
SAMUEL J. JONES
(1836-1901)
First to head the eye and ear departments of St. Luke's Hospital, the Chi-
cago Medical College and Mercy Hospital, Dr. Samuel J. Jones was for a
generation a conspicuous figure in Chicago.
He was born in Bainbridge, Pennsylvania, March 22, 1836. He was a
graduate of Dickinson College, which honored him successively with the
degrees of A. B., A. M. and LL. D. He received his diploma from the medical
department of the University of Pennsylvania in 1860.
In 1861, he was commissioned assistant surgeon and later surgeon in the
United States Navy and was present at several engagements. During 1863, a
large number of Confederate prisoners, tiring of the confinement at Camp
Douglas, Rock Island, Alton and Columbus barracks, applied for permission
to enlist in the United States Navy and Surgeon Jones assisted at the induc-
tion of more than 3,000 of them into the Federal service.
Resigning his commission early in 1868, Dr. Jones visited Europe, where,
in numerous hospitals, he studied otology and ophthalmology. He came to
Chicago at the end of the year and in 1869 he established a department for
diseases of the eye and ear in St. Luke's hospital. In 1870 the chair of
ophthalmology and otology was created in the Chicago Medical College and
Dr. Jones was chosen to occupy it. This professorship he held for twenty-
seven years. He founded eye and ear clinics at Mercy Hospital and the
South Side Free Dispensary, which he conducted for ten years.
He was also a delegate from the American Academy of Medicine to the
Seventh International Medical Congress held in London in 1881. He was
president of the section of otology in the Ninth International Medical Con-
gress held in Washington in 1887. He was president of the American
Academy of Medicine in 1889, and had been vice-president the two years
previous. He was editor of the Chicago Medical Journal and Examiner after
its consolidation in 1875.
Dr. Jones was never married. A year before his death he retired from pro-
fessional work and devoted his time to an anti-noise crusade, which he was
agitating when the end came. His death from pneumonia occurred October
4, 1901.
SIGISMUND DANIEL JACOBSEN
(1837-1894)
Thoroughly equipped by training in European schools, Dr. Sigismund
Daniel Jacobsen was one of Chicago's leading ophthalmologists. A member
106
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
SIGISMUND DANIEL JACOBSEN
JAMES STEWART JEWELL
EDWIN POWELL
ADDISON HOWARD FOSTER
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 107
of several hospital staffs, he was also president of the Scandinavian Medical
Society.
Dr. Jacobsen was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, February 14, 1837. Being
a member of an orthodox Jewish family, he was given an education that in-
cluded the Hebrew language, the scriptures and theology. Later he was
admitted to the University of Copenhagen, from which he was graduated with
the degree of doctor of philosophy in 1856. He at once began the study of
medicine in the medical department of the university. He served in the
Royal Frederick Hospital from 1857 until 1862, when he was graduated. In
the Schleswig-Holstein campaign, in 1863, Dr. Jacobson was surgeon of the
Thirteenth Infantry and was also in charge of a field hospital.
Dr. Jacobsen came to Chicago in 1866 and specialized in ophthalmology.
In the spring of 1871 he established a private hospital and clinic at 303
Wabash Avenue for the treatment of diseases of the eye. When this was
consumed in the great fire of that year, he entered general practice, giving
especial attention to diseases of the eye. He was a member of the staffs of
Cook County, Michael Reese, German, Maternity and Alexian Brothers
hospitals.
Rush Medical College conferred upon Dr. Jacobsen an honorary degree in
1881. He was an organizer of the Scandinavian Medical Society in 1887 and
became its president in 1889. He died in Copenhagen, February 23, 1894.
JAMES STEWART JEWELL
(1837-1887)
Born in a log cabin in Illinois where works on science were regarded
askance because of the belief that they tended toward atheism, Dr. James
Stewart Jewell became not only a distinguished scholar but an eminent
scientist as well. He is especially remembered as a neurologist of high
authority.
Dr. Jewell was born at Jewell's Prairie, near Galena, September 8, 1837,
the son of John and Margaret Stewart Jewell. At the age of two years he
knew the alphabet and at four he could read. When he was old enough to
wield a hoe his mother would go with him to the field and while she dropped
the seed and he covered it with the hoe, she would read to him.
Bred in this environment he became an avid student. He read diligently
every volume that came within his grasp from the Bible and Fox's Book of
Martyrs to works on geology and anthropology. The latter his pious mother
regarded with apprehension as conducive to disbelief in the Deity.
Dr. Jewell studied under the preceptorship of Dr. S. M. Mitchell of Galena
in 1855 and in 1860 he was a member of the first class to graduate from the
medical department of Lind University, later the Chicago Medical College.
"Tall and angular, with a large head adorned with a shock of brindle hair,
and with prominent gray eyes and spindling legs, his ungainly appearance
was accentuated by a small trunk carried on his shoulder," writes Dr.
Harold N. Moyer. "Within a few days, however, the faculty and student
body realized that this unpromising exterior concealed a mind of rare bril-
liancy and uncommon attainments."
For two years he practiced medicine in Williamson County, 111., and return-
ing to Chicago, he was appointed demonstrator of anatomy in his alma
mater. This position he filled until 1869 when he resigned with the purpose
of studying and teaching biblical history. As a part of his plan Dr. Jewell
108 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
traveled in Egypt and Palestine, there laying the foundation of his knowledge
of Egyptology and Hebrew.
The lure of medicine overcame his desire to be a religious teacher and,
when he returned to Chicago in 1871, he resumed his practice, devoting his
attention to nervous and mental diseases. He was appointed professor in
this branch in the Chicago Medical College. Two years later he founded the
Quarterly Journal of Nervous and Mental Diseases and was its editor.
"All of the students of that early day are united in pronouncing Dr. Jewell
one of the most interesting and fascinating lecturers of his time," says
Dr. Moyer. "They are agreed that they derived more inspiration from his
lectures than from any other member of the faculty and some of them state
that they believe that he was the best teacher they ever had."
Dr. Jewell helped to found the American Neurological Association and
was for three successive years its president.
During his active career Dr. Jewell had become not only a student of
Hebrew and Egyptology but he had acquired a knowledge of botany, anthro-
pology, zoology, botany, Greek, Latin, French, German and Italian. It was
appropriate, therefore, that Northwestern University should confer upon him
the degree of Master of Arts.
Dr. Jewell died April 18, 1887.
"With his passing went one of the most picturesque figures in our local
profession, and a man who left his mark on American neurology," says
Dr. Moyer.
EDWIN POWELL
(1837-1911)
Distinguished surgeon in the union army, Dr. Edwin Powell, nephew of
Dr. Daniel Brainard, was for a number of years a professor at Rush Medical
College.
He was born in Jefferson County, New York, October 12, 1837. His parents
were John and Eveline (Brainard) Powell. He was graduated from Williams
College in 1856 and in 1857 from Rush Medical College, his principal precep-
tor being Dr. Brainard. From 1856 until 1861 he served as an interne in the
United States Marine Hospital. During this time he became demonstrator of
anatomy at Rush Medical College.
Commissioned in 1861 as surgeon of the Forty-second Illinois Volunteers,
he served in Missouri and in July of the next year was assigned to the
Seventy-second Illinois Volunteers, which participated in the Vicksburg
campaign. During the siege of Vicksburg, he conducted the McPherson
General Hospital with such credit that he was promoted to a colonelcy and
awarded a gold medal by his army corps. He was also present at the siege
of Mobile.
Returning to Chicago after the war, he resumed his connection with Rush
Medical College. He was professor of military surgery in that institution
until 1877.
After the organization of Cook County Hospital, he was for a time a
member of its staff. He was highly regarded as a teacher of clinical surgery.
He died at Marysville, Missouri, February 13, 1911.
ADDISON HOWARD FOSTER
(1838-1906)
First to occupy the chair of anatomy in the Woman's Medical College of
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 109
Chicago, Dr. Addison Howard Foster was a graduate of the College of
Physicians and Surgeons of New York City.
Of pre-revolutionary ancestry, Dr. Foster was born at Wilton, N. H.,
November 13, 1838. He was educated in the public schools and at Ipswich-
Appleton Academy and was graduated from Dartmouth College in 1863.
After some time spent with medical preceptors, he entered the College of
Physicians and Surgeons of the City of New York, from which he was grad-
uated in 1866. On September 18, 1866, he married Miss Susan M. Houghton
of New Ipswich, N. H.
Upon the completion of two years of practice at Lawrence, Mass., Dr.
Foster came to Chicago and when the Woman's Medical College was organ-
ized in 1870, he was not only made professor of anatomy but associate pro-
fessor of surgery as well. He filled these positions until 1875. In 1869-70
Dr. Foster was a visiting physician for the Brainard Free Dispensary and
from 1872 to 1888 he was medical examiner for the New England Mutual
Life Insurance Company. He was a member of the American Medical
Association, the Academy of Medicine and the Chicago and Illinois State
Medical societies. He was president of the Chicago Gynecological Society
and president of the Chicago Pathological Society. He was the founder of
the Therapeutic Club.
Dr. Foster died March 3, 1906, at Oak Park, where he made his home.
His widow and three sons, Fred Houghton, Winslow Howard and Charles
Stedman Foster, survived him.
SAMUEL ANDERSON Me WILLIAMS
(1839-1917)
The mental alertness and physical vigor of Dr. Samuel Anderson McWil-
liams continued unimpaired almost to his seventy-ninth year, after fifty
years of practice in Chicago.
Born in Ireland, February 7, 1839, he came to the United States with his
parents as a child. After obtaining the degrees of A. B. and A. M. at the
University of Michigan, he attended the medical department of that institu-
tion for two years. Two years of teaching in the Waupun, Wisconsin, High
School (1863-65) were followed by a course at the Chicago Medical College,
from which he was graduated in 1866.
He lectured on physical diagnosis and anatomy in the Chicago Medical
College in 1866 and 1867 and was professor of anatomy in the Woman's
Hospital Medical College of Chicago from 1870 to 1875. For ten years,
beginning in 1878, he was attending physician at Cook County Hospital.
With Doctors Charles Warrington Earle, A. Reeves Jackson, D. A. K-
Steele and Leonard St. John, Dr. McWilliams founded the College of Physi-
cians and Surgeons of Chicago in 1882. There he held the chair of diseases
of the chest and clinical medicine for ten years. He was also a director
of the institution.
After leaving- the College of Physicians and Surgeons he served as pro-
fessor of eruptive fevers and physical diagnosis in Jenner Medical College,
1901-03; professor of physical diagnosis and diseases of the chest in Dear-
born Medical Colege, 1903-04; later occupying the same chair in Reliance
Medical College. He was also associate professor of gfiiito-urinary dis-
eases in Hennett Medical College.
110
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
SAMUEL ANDERSON McWILLIAMS
DANIEL ROBERTS BROWER
JOSEPH SIDNEY MITCHELL
TRUMAN W. MILLER
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 111
He was a member of various national, state and local societies, including
the American Medical Association, the Chicago Medical and Illinois State
Medical societies, the Chicago Medico-Legal Society, the Physicians' Club
and the American Academy of Medicine.
Dr. McWilliams was twice married. Following the death of his first
wife he married Miss Bertha Schetbel, January 8, 1884. There were four
children.
He died January 14, 1917. Until two weeks before his death he was
active in his work as attending physician at the Fort Dearborn Hospital.
DANIEL ROBERTS BROWER
(1839-1909)
Dr. Daniel Roberts Brower, sometime president of the Chicago and Illi-
nois State Medical societies, was a distinguished alienist. Born in Mana-
yunk, a suburb of Philadelphia, October 13, 1839, he was graduated from
the Polytechnic College of Philadelphia in 1858. In 1864 he received his
degree from the medical department of Georgetown University, Washing-
ton, D. C. Immediately after graduation he was commissioned Assistant
Surgeon and assigned to the United States General Hospital at Portsmouth,
Va., and later he was on station at Fortress Monroe.
Dr. Brower continued in the hospital service until the close of the Civil
War, when he was mustered out. From 1865 until 1868 he was surgeon in
charge of the Howard's Grove Hospital of the Freedmen's Bureau. He
then became superintendent of the Eastern Lunatic Asylum of Virginia at
Williamsburg, and served as such until 1875. In that year he resigned and
came to Chicago, limiting his practice to mental and nervous diseases. In
1877 he was appointed professor of nervous diseases in the Woman's Medi-
cal College.
In Rush Medical College he was a lecturer on the theory and practice of
medicine in the spring course from 1883 to 1889. From 1889 to 1891 he
lectured on mental diseases, materia medica and therapeutics. Thereupon
he became professor of mental diseases, materia medica and therapeutics.
This position he held until 1899. Dr. Brower was professor of nervous and
mental diseases in the Post-Graduate Medical School and neurologist at
St. Joseph's and Cook County hospitals. He was consulting physician to
the Woman's, the Presbyterian and other hospitals.
In 1891 Dr. Brower was president of the Chicago Medical Society and in
1895 president of the Illinois State Medical Society. He was a voluminous
writer on neurology. He received the degree of Doctor of Laws from
Wabash College, St. Ignatius College and Georgetown University.
Dr. Brower died March 1, 1909, and was survived by his widow, a daugh-
ter, Eunice M., and a son, Dr. Daniel R. Brower.
JOSEPH' SIDNEY MITCHELL
(1839-1898)
One of the founders and president of the Chicago Homeopathic Medical
College and originator of the "Mitchell Method" for the treatment of cancer,
Dr. Joseph Sidney Mitchell was born December 9, 1839, in Nantucket, Mas-
sachusetts.
His early education was obtained in the schools of his native town and in
the English High School of Boston. In 1859 he entered Williams College,
112 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
from which lie was graduated in 1863. lie then began a course of medical
study at Bellevue Hospital Medical College and was graduated in 1865.
Shortly thereafter he came to Chicago.
Before he had practiced here a year he was appointed to the lectureship
of surgical and pathological anatomy at Hahnemann Medical College. In
1867, he became professor of physiology in the same institution and in 1879
he was assigned to the chair of theory and practice of medicine. He was also
elected dean of the college.
In 1876 he withdrew from Hahnemann College to engage in the organiza-
tion of the Chicago Homeopathic Medical College, of which he was president
until his death. For seven years he was secretary of the Illinois State Home-
opathic Medical Association, during which time the active membership was
doubled. He was also president of this society. For a time he was attending
physician at the Cook County Hospital.
At the time of his death he was physician in charge of the medical depart-
ment of the Chicago Homeopathic Hospital. He was an honorary member
of the Massachusetts, Indiana and Kentucky State Medical associations. In
1881, when the International Medical Congress met in London, he was chosen
one of the American delegates. In 1893, he was chairman of the World's
Fair Congress of Physicians and Surgeons.
Dr. Mitchell was widely known to the medical profession as the originator
of what is now termed the "Mitchell Method" for the treatment of cancer.
On February 28, 1867, he married Miss Helen S. Leeds of Philadelphia.
Upon his death in Chicago, November 4, 1898, he was survived by his
widow and three children, Mrs. James Todd, Sidney and Leeds Mitchell.
TRUMAN W. MILLER
(1840-1900)
Organizer and first president of the Chicago Policlinic, Dr. Truman W.
Miller was for more than thirty-five years a practitioner in Chicago.
He was born at Lodi, New York, March 2, 1840. He attended the College
of Physicians and Surgeons, New York City and later the Geneva (N. Y.)
Medical College, from which he was graduated in 1863. He became an
assistant surgeon in the Army of the Potomac and served in that organization
until after the battle of the Wilderness, when he was assigned to the duty of
post and examining surgeon at Chicago.
At the close of the civil war he was appointed examining surgeon for the
recruiting service of the regular army with station in this city. He performed
this duty until 1869. After resignation from the army he was Cook County
Physician for two years and an inspector for the board of health.
In 1873 he was appointed assistant surgeon of the United States Marine
Hospital at Chicago and in 1877 he was promoted to the rank of surgeon.
In 1878 he was chosen medical director for the northwest of the Continental
Life Insurance Company of Hartford, Connecticut, and consulting surgeon
for the Chicago district of the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York.
He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and in 1880 and
1881 he was surgeon general of the organization for the northwest encamp-
ment. He was surgeon of the Western Indiana Railroad, the Chicago &
Grand Trunk Railroad Company and was attached to the staff of Cook
County Hospital.
Dr. Miller was surgeon in chief of the Maurice Porter Memorial Hospital
for Children and of the Augustana Hospital and was consulting surgeon at
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 113
St. Joseph's, the German, Alexian Brothers, and St. Mary's Memorial hos-
pitals.
He was professor of surgery at the Chicago Policlinic, which he helped to
organize and of which he was the first president.
He was a member of the different professional societies. He married Miss
Leonora Edson, of Lake View, October 15, 1864.
He died May 13, 1900.
JAMES NEVINS HYDE
(1840-1910)
Assistant surgeon in the United States Navy, thirty-one years professor
of skin, venereal and genito-urinary diseases at Rush Medical College, twice
president of the American Dermatological Association, author of a monu-
mental treatise covering the entire field of dermatology, Dr. James Nevins
Hyde was a practitioner whose influence extended from one end of the
country to the other.
"His great strength of character, charming personality and magnetism
bound his legion of patients to him to a degree not commonly appreciated,"
says Dr. Oliver S. Ormsby. "The great good accomplished by him not only
in relieving their physical ills but in directing their future lives is a matter
of such magnitude that its far reaching consequences can only be partly
told."
Dr. Hyde was born at Norwich, Conn., June 21, 1840. He was graduated
from the academic department of Yale University in 1861.
He began the study of medicine with Dr. William H. Draper in the Col-
lege of Physicians and Surgeons in New York in the year in which he
received his academic degree. After pursuing his studies for some time,
however, he entered the United States Navy as an assistant surgeon and
later was designated Passed Assistant Surgeon. He performed heroic duty
toward the end of the Civil War in the battle waged against yellow fever
off Key West. During this time his two superior medical officers succumbed
to the disease and left him as medical officer in charge. Though only a
young man, so well did he perform this duty that he was cited by the
Secretary of the Navy.
After the war President Lincoln assigned him to the Ticonderoga under
Admiral Farragut. Every officer on the ship was a man who had won dis-
tinction during the war. The Ticonderoga made a visit of ceremony to
various European ports.
Dr. Hyde resigned in 1869, receiving his medical degree from the Uni-
versity of Pennsylvania in the same year. He then removed to Chicago.
He began his teaching career in 1873 at Rush Medical College as a lecturer
on dermatology, a position he held for three years. From 1876 to 1878 he
was professor of dermatology in the Chicago Medical College and in 1879
he was elected professor of skin, venereal and genito-urinary diseases at
Rush Medical College, the chair of which he held continuously for thirty-
one years.
Dr. Hyde's name was prominently connected with American dermatology
from the time of his entrance into the field in 1873. He was identified with
the American Dermatological Association from its inception and was twice
its president. He was a voluminous writer on scientific dermatology and
his treatise on diseases of the skin, published first in 1883, underwent eight
114 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
JAMES NEVINS HYDE
JAMES SUYDAM KNOX
CHRISTIAN FENCER
SARAH HACKETT STEVENSON
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 115
complete revisions. It grew from a modest volume containing 560 pages
of text and six illustrations to a work containing 1100 pages of text and 220
illustrations, besides fifty-eight full page plates. It was an index to the
advancement of the science of dermatology during a period of twenty-six
years.
Besides being a 'member of the faculty of Rush Medical College, Dr. Hyde
was professor of skin, venereal and genito-urinary diseases in the Post
Graduate Medical School. He was dermatologist to the Augustana, Michael
Reese and Presbyterian hospitals and the Chicago Orphan Asylum and was
consulting dermatologist to Mary Thompson Hospital, the Home for Desti-
tute Crippled Children and the Central Free Dispensary.
From 1902 he was professorial lecturer on dermatology at the University
of Chicago. He was a member of the various professional societies, local
and national, and an active or corresponding member of the leading derma-
tological associations of Europe.
He presented many papers before the Chicago Literary Club on topics
outside of medicine and was once honored with the presidency of that
organization.
At a banquet given General Sheridan on the fiftieth anniversary of his
birthday, Dr. Hyde read a classical article entitled "Asleep and Awake."
Another classic he has left us is entitled "Historical Strawberries." Another
volume of great value is his "Early Medical Chicago," an historical work of
note.
Dr. Hyde married Miss Alice Louise Griswold, July 31, 1872. He had
one son, Charles Cheney Hyde, an attorney and professor of international
law at Northwestern University. Dr. Hyde died September 6, 1910.
JAMES SUYDAM KNOX
(1840-1892)
Collateral descendant of the preacher, John Knox, veteran of the civil war,
an able teacher, Dr. James Suydam Knox was born at Nassau, New York,
July 28, 1840. He was graduated from Princeton College in 1860, and while
teaching in the preparatory school of that institution he enlisted as a private
of New Jersey volunteers in the civil war. Returning from the war, Dr.
Knox was graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New
York City, in 1866.
He began practice in Somerville, New Jersey, where in 1869 he married
Miss Elizabeth Hartwell. He came to Chicago in 1873 and engaged in prac-
tice on the west side. From 1874 to 1882 Dr. Knox was lecturer on obstetrics
in Rush Medical College. Thereafter until 1888 he was adjunct professor of
obstetrics and diseases of children. In 1888 a full professorship was con-
ferred upon him and he continued to hold the chair until his death. He was
a member of the medical staff of Presbyterian Hospital and it was largely
through his influence that the maternity section of that hospital was estab-
lished in 1892.
Dr. Knox was a member of the International Medical Congress, the Ameri-
can Medical Association, the Illinois State and Chicago Medical societies, the
Chicago Pathological, the Chicago Medico-Legal and the Chicago Gynecologi-
cal societies. He was president of the last named organization at the time
of his -death.
He died June 28, 1892.
116 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
CHRISTIAN FENCER
(1840-1902j
Honor student, surgeon in the Schleswig-Holstein and Franco-Prussian
wars, physician under the Khedive of Egypt, first to introduce antiseptic
surgery in Cook County Hospital, professor of surgery in the College of
Physicians and Surgeons of Chicago, Northwestern University Medical
School and Rush Medical College, Dr. Christian Fenger for a quarter of a
century was an inspiration to the medical youth of Chicago.
"During that period of time," writes Dr. Frank Billings, "he exerted an
influence in, scientific medicine unequalled by any other individual." That
influence is manifested today in the work of the foremost surgeons, pathol-
ogists and practitioners of internal medicine of the city.
From an autobiography written by Dr. Fenger when King Christian IX
of Denmark bestowed upon him the order of Knight of Dannebrog, we
learn the main facts of his life.
He was born at Breinningaard, Breinninge Sogn in Ringkjoping Amt,
Denmark, November 3, 1840. Devotion to the natural sciences led him to
matriculate at the Polyteknisk Lareanstalt with the object of becoming a
civil engineer. After a year, however, he yielded to his father's wishes and
undertook the study of medicine. He passed his first examination in 1863
and the following year he served as assistant physician at Augustenborg
Lazareth under Studsgaard.
He was assistant surgeon for a battery of artillery in the Schleswig-
Holstein campaign and after the war he continued the study of medicine,
passing his examination in 1866-67 with the degree of "Laud." He was an
interne in the Royal Frederik Hospital in 1869. Researches made by him
earned a grant from the Danish government that enabled him to become
a surgeon in the Franco-Prussian war. His experience in the war enabled
him to write a report on the endoscopy of gunshot wounds.
After the war he went to Vienna, where he studied pathologic anatomy
and surgery. Returning to Denmark, he became prosector to the Commune-
hospital, where he wrote his thesis on cancer of the stomach for the degree
of Doctor of Medicine, which was granted in 1874 — approximately thirteen
years after beginning the study of medicine. He successfully defended this
thesis in 1875. In the spring of that year he went to Egypt to assume for
a time his brother's practice. In Cairo he became a district physician under
the Egyptian government, serving as "Medicin du Quartier der Kalifa"
under the chief of medical affairs in Cairo, Dr. Ahata Bey. In this capacity
he investigated an epidemic of trachoma among the children of the public
schools.
In Cairo Dr. Fenger was physician for a part of the American colony
and, among them, certain American officers whom Khedive Ismail Pasha
had employed to reform the Egyptian army. A Major Irgens suggested
that Dr. Fenger accompany him to Bloomington, Illinois. Dr. Fenger had
proceeded as far as Chicago when a fellow countryman, Dr. S. D. Jacobsen,
persuaded him to remain.
"In the spring of 1878 I secured by means of borrowed money a place as
physician to Cook County Hospital," writes Dr. Fenger in his autobiography.
"Here I commenced to give lectures and demonstrations in pathologic
anatomy, a science which was unknown to physicians there. At this hospi-
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 117
tal I served first as pathologist, later as surgeon for twelve to fourteen
years, and introduced Lister's antiseptic operative methods."
Dr. Fenger's account of the manner in which he obtained a place on the
staff of Cook County Hospital recalls the fact that that was the period of
the most corrupt group of county commissioners Chicago has ever known.
One thousand dollars was the price to be paid by the ambitious medical
man, with no other reward than to see, study and heal disease, for a place
on the staff of an institution for the care of the county's poor.
"To one who served at one time as Fenger's House Surgeon and later
grew up in his environment," writes Dr. Lewis L. McArthur, "the convic-
tion is fixed, after the lapse of two score years, that Fenger was a great
surgeon. The phrase, de mortuis nil nisi bonum, will still permit an ardent
admirer and grateful student to remark : he was not an equally great oper-
ator. His exact knowledge of surgical anatomy, his dead-house familiarity
with every part of the human body seemed to influence the extent of his
incisions. His thorough understanding of the existing pathological process,
his scientific urge to be thorough, would ofttimes prolong an anesthesia to
a dangerous length. With all his faults (and they were few), we loved him
for himself and for what he taught us."
In 1880 Dr. Fenger became curator of Rush Medical College museum.
In 1884 he was appointed professor of surgery in the College of Physicians
and Surgeons of Chicago, and surgeon-in-chief to the Passavant Memorial
and German hospitals, when these two institutions were founded. In 1893
he assumed the professorship of surgery in Northwestern University Medi-
cal School and later became surgeon to Mercy Hospital. He was also
surgeon-in-chief of Lutheran Tabitha Hospital. In 1899 he became pro-
fessor of surgery in Rush Medical College in affiliation with the University
of Chicago and attending surgeon at the Presbyterian Hospital, holding
both of these positions until his death.
In 1900, on his sixtieth birthday, Dr. Fenger w?as given a testimonial
banquet by 500 physicians which afforded striking evidence of the esteem
in which he was held. The Fenger Memorial Association, organized soon
after his death, perpetuates his memory through scientific research carried
on through the income of an endowment fund.
Dr. Fenger was a member of the Chicago Medical Society, being its
president in 1901, the Chicago Surgical Society, the Illinois State Medical
Society, the American Medical Association and the American Surgical
Association, serving as its vice-president in 1895.
He was a prolific writer upon subjects relating to surgery, special pathol-
ogy and diagnosis. These papers were reprinted under the joint editor-
ship of Doctors Ludvig Hektoen and Coleman G. Buford in "The Col-
lected Works of Christian Fenger," in two volumes.
In 1878 he married Miss Caroline Sophie Abildgaard. There were two
children, Frederick A. Fenger and Augusta Maria Fenger.
In a review of Dr. Fenger's life, Dr. Billings has written :
"The outstanding features presented arc the evidences of the purposeful
industry of the man. Undismayed by difficulties and obstructions to the
attainment of objectives, he won success in practically every project under-
taken. His knowledge of morbid anatomy and of pathology was phenomenal
for that day and was attained by unremitting energy during his life in
118 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
Denmark and Egypt and his earlier experiences in the United States. This
knowledge of pathology and of morbid anatomy made him one of the great
surgeons of his time. He never became a brilliant operating surgeon, but
what he lacked in operating skill was more than compensated for by
thoroughness and knowledge of pathology. In diagnosis he was unsur-
passed by any of his living contemporaries.
"He spoke five or more modern languages, but did not possess a ready
command of any language. Nevertheless, he was a great teacher and
though his speech was usually marked by halting words, he was able to
impart knowledge to others with greater clearness than most teachers of
fluent speech. He was especially fond of young men who showed by their
every day lives that they had a thirst for knowledge and expresed this by
purposeful enduring work. It was through his influence that many of the
young medical men of the period from 1880 to 1900 visited the clinics of
Germany, Austria, France and England and later became leaders in their
chosen fields of work in the United States."
Dr. Fenger died March 7, 1902. "But though twenty years have elapsed,"
writes Dr. Billings, "he lives today in the hearts and minds of hundreds
of physicians and surgeons who were proud to call him master ; and he
will continue to live through other generations by the work of his students
and his pupils' students."
SARAH HACKETT STEVENSON
(1841-1909)
In the eighteen-seventies there were comparatively few women in the
medical profession, and those who entered it were treated by most of their
male rivals in a manner approaching hostility and distrust. It required a
brave spirit for a woman not only to overcome the obstacles placed in her
path by men in the profession, many of whom opposed medical instruction
for women, but to place herself on an even plane with them.
Such a spirit was possessed by Dr. Sarah Hackett Stevenson, pioneer among
women physicians.
"Dr. Stevenson was one of the first women in the Middle West to study
and practice medicine," writes Dr. Marie Olsen, "and as such she overcame
all prejudices by proving her ability and fitness for her chosen profession.
Indeed, her professional brothers entertained toward her the profoundest
respect and admiration.
"In those early days of Chicago, there was much constructive work to be
done along all lines and Dr. Stevenson, with her vision of the great possi-
bilities for women and her desire to be of service, threw herself with enthu-
siasm and energy into these various activities. Through her wonderful
mentality, magnetic personality and charm of manner, she was able to over-
come difficulties and blaze the way for enterprises of philanthropical, pro-
fessional and business nature.
"Numerous are the individuals, institutions and organizations that have
occasion to remember that great woman with gratitude and love."
Dr. Stevenson, the daughter of Col. John and Sarah Hackett Stevenson,
was born at Buffalo Grove, Illinois, Februarv 2, 1841. After attending Mt.
- o
Carroll Seminary, she was graduated from the Illinois State Normal School
at Bloomington in 1863. Her first work was as a teacher in Sterling, Illinois,
where she became principal of the public school.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 119
In 1874, she was graduated from the Woman's Medical College of Chi-
cago. Prior to and after her graduation she studied at the South Kensing-
ton Science School, London, and in the hospitals of London and Dublin.
While in London she resided for a time with Emily Faithful, the philan-
thropist, made the acquaintance of Lord Tennyson, and was fortunate in
having a biological training under Huxley and Darwin, fitting her to fill the
chair of physiology in the Woman's Medical College, to which she was later
appointed.
She began practice in Chicago in 1876 and the same year was a delegate
of the Illinois State Medical Society to the meeting of the American Medical
Association in Philadelphia, where her name was presented for membership
by Dr. William H. Byford and sustained by the president. Five years before
the association had laid on the table the hotly discussed motion to admit
women as members.
Dr. Stevenson was the first woman appointed to the State Board of Health
and the first woman member of the medical staff of Cook County Hospital.
She organized and was head of the staff of the Woman's Hospital on the
grounds of the World's Fair, where three thousand cases were treated. She
also organized the Chicago Maternity Hospital and was among the founders
of the Home for Incurables and the Illinois Training School for Nurses.
She was professor of physiology in the Woman's Medical College from
1876 to 1881 and professor of obstetrics from 1881 to 1894. She was obstetri-
cian to Cook County Hospital, consulting physician to the Woman's and
Provident hospitals, attending physician at the Mary Thompson Hospital
and president of the National Temperance and Chicago Maternity hospitals.
She was president of the Chicago Woman's Club and a member of the Twen-
tieth Century and Fortnightly clubs.
Dr. Stevenson was the author of a "Text-Book on Biology," for beginners,
which had an extensive sale and was used in the schools.
Prolonged overwork in college, hospital and practice resulted in shattered
health and compelled her retirement from all professional work in 1903. She
died August 14, 1909, in St. Elizabeth's Hospital, where she had been a
patient for many years.
EDWARD W. LEE
(1841-1907)
Mentor and friend of Dr. John B. Murphy, Dr. Edward W. Lee was one of
the first surgeons in Chicago to operate for appendicitis and diseases of the
gall bladder, and by reason of this fact he profoundly influenced the career
of the former.
"One of the best evidences of Dr. Lee's rare good judgment and knowledge
of men as well as of medicine and surgery was his choice of associates," writes
Dr. William A. Evans.
"When Christian Fenger was a newly arrived foreigner, practicing pathol-
ogy, Dr. Lee recognized his ability and, by associating Dr. Fenger with him,
made it possible for that great man to lay the foundations of his surgical
practice.
"When John B. Murphy emerged as an interne from Cook County Hospital,
Dr. Lee's pragmatic mind saw his possibilities at once and he took him on as
an assistant. His professional association with Dr. Murphy in some relation
or other continued until Dr. Lee's death."
120
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
EDWARD W. LEE
JOHN WILLIAM STREETER
TEMPLE STOUGHTON HAYNE
CHARLES THEODORE PARKES
HISTORY OF MKOICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 121
Dr. Lee was born in Gorey, County Wexford, Ireland, June 19, 1841, the
son of a physician. When seventeen years old he entered the Royal College
of Surgeons in Dublin, being also under the preceptorship of a Dr. Nalty.
Although completing the course in three years, he had to wait until he was
twenty-one years old before obtaining his diploma.
After serving as a physician's assistant for a year, a position as surgeon on
an Atlantic liner was offered to Dr. Lee, who made a number of voyages.
Learning of a favorable opening for a surgeon in Chicago, he came to this
city in 1864 and located on the west side. His practice grew rapidly and in
1880 he enlisted Dr. Murphy as his assistant. Dr. Murphy remained with him
for ten years, being succeeded by Dr. Frederick S. Hartmann.
Dr. Lee was for many years on the surgical staff of Cook County Hospital
and the Alexian Brothers Hospital. For more than twenty years he was chief
surgeon for the Pennsylvania lines west of Pittsburgh. He was a member of
the American Medical Association and the Illinois State and Chicago Medical
Societies.
Dr. Lee died August 11, 1907, leaving a family which included three sons,
two of whom were practicing physicians located in Chicago.
JOHN WILLIAM STREETER
(1841-1905)
A soldier in the Army of the Cumberland who was promoted for bravery
on the field of battle, graduate of Hahnemann Medical College and later
professor of diseases of women in that institution, founder of Streeter Hos-
pital, Dr. John William Streeter was born in Austinburg, Ashtabula County,
Ohio, September 17, 1841. He was the son of Rev. Sereno W. Streeter, a
clergyman of the Congregational church and of Mary Williams Streeter, a
descendant of Roger Williams. Both of the parents were graduates of
Oberlin College.
For four years, from 1858 to 1861, inclusive, John Streeter taught school
and worked on a farm in northern Indiana. In July, 1861, he joined the
First Regiment of Michigan Light Artillery and for three years followed
the fortunes of the Army of the Cumberland, never being off duty a day
during the entire period. He was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant
for bravery during the first day's battle at Chickamauga, the piece of artillery
of which he had charge being the only one in the battery which did not fall
into the hands of the enemy. He also participated in the engagements at
Nashville and Franklin, being mustered out in the fall of 1865 with the rank
of first lieutenant.
At the conclusion of the war he began his professional studies at the Uni-
versity of Michigan, continuing them in the office of Dr. D. C. Powers of
Coldwater, Michigan. Subsequently he pursued a course of reading under
Dr. Goodwin in Toledo, Ohio, but finally he came to Chicago, entered Hahne-
mann Medical College and was graduated therefrom in 1868. For two years
he worked in the dispensary of the college and later he became professor
of diseases of women at Hahnemann. For twelve years he was attending
gynecologist at Cook County Hospital.
In 1888 he founded the hospital at 2646 Calumet Avenue which bears his
name. He was a member of the American Institute of Homeopathy and
of the Illinois State and Chicago Homeopathic societies. He was also surgeon
of the old First Regiment and of the First Infantry Brigade of the Illinois
122 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
National Guard and was a member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion.
In 1869 he married Miss Mary Clark of Union City, Michigan. There were
three children, Mrs. Alfred T. Martin, Dr. Edward Clark Streeter and Mrs.
Philip Hamill.
During his last years, Dr. Streeter, who took a great interest in agricul-
ture, wrote a book entitled, "Fat of the Land," a story of an American farm.
He died June 4, 1905.
TEMPLE STOUGHTON HOYNE
(1841-1899)
Dr. Temple Stoughton Hoyne, son of Thomas Hoyne of the Chicago bar
and grandson of Dr. John T. Temple, was born in Chicago, October 16, 1841.
He first attended school in the old Dearborn school in Madison street oppo-
site McVicker's theater. At ten years of age he was placed under a tutor
and thereafter he attended private schools until he entered the old Chicago
University in 1860. He was graduated in 1863, receiving the degrees of B. S.,
M. S. and A. M.
He then matriculated in the medical department of Bellevue Hospital.
While pursuing his studies he was called to active service with the medical
corps of the army and had charge with another physician of a hospital in
Fredericksburg, Virginia. Dr. Hoyne received his medical degree in 1865.
In 1869 he was elected professor of materia medica in the Hahnemann
Medical College of Chicago. He also assumed charge of the venereal patients
in Scammon Hospital. He was also business manager and registrar of the
college. Later he was a member of the faculties of Hering Medical College
and Dunham Medical College.
Dr. Hoyne frequently contributed to medical journals. His published
works include "Clinical Therapeutics" and "A Monograph on Urinary and
Venereal Diseases." He was also editor of the Medical Visitor.
On October 17, 1866, he married Miss Fannie H. Vedder of Palatine Bridge,
New York. There was one daughter, who became Mrs. Charles H. Buell.
He died February 4, 1899.
CHARLES THEODORE PARKES
(1842-1891)
Private soldier and officer in the Civil War, successor of Dr. Moses Gunn
as professor of surgery in Rush Medical College, president of the Chicago
Medical Society and of the Chicago Gynecological Society, Dr. Charles T.
Parkes was one of the ablest and best beloved surgeons in the Mississippi
Valley.
During his last illness Dr. Gunn spoke frequently of his personal relations
with Dr. Parkes, first as a student, afterwards as an assistant, and paid him
this tribute :
"I know of no one in whose hands I would sooner trust my life, my reputa-
tion and my property."
Dr. Parkes was born in Troy, N. Y., August 19, 1842. He was the youngest
of ten children of Joseph Parkes, an Englishman by birth, who moved to
Chicago in 1868.
At the outbreak of the Civil War, Dr. Parkes was a student at the Uni-
versity of Michigan, but he promptly abandoned his academic course to enlist
as a private in Company A, 117th Illinois Volunteer Infantry. Later he was
promoted to a captaincy and placed in command of a company of the 69th
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 123
United States Infantry. Captain Parkes had studied engineering and among
his achievements during the war was the building of the fortifications at
Island Number Ten in the Mississippi river. At the close of the conflict he
declined a colonel's commission.
The youthful veteran began the study of medicine with Dr. Robert L. Rea
and was graduated from Rush Medical College in 1868. The same year he
married Miss Isabella J. Gonterman. .
A few weeks after receiving his degree Dr. Parkes was chosen demonstrator
of anatomy at his alma mater and in 1875 was elected professor of anatomy.
In 1887 Dr. Parkes was designated professor of surgery in Rush Medical
College in succession to Dr. Moses Gunn, whom he also succeeded as treas-
urer of the college. He held both of these positions until his death.
Dr. Parkes was one of the attending surgeons of the Presbyterian Hospital,
professor of surgery in the Chicago Policlinic, surgeon in charge of St.
Joseph's Hospital, consulting surgeon of the Hospital for Women and Chil-
dren and surgeon-in-chief of the Augustana Hospital. He was president of
the Chicago Medical Society in 1885-86 and later was head of the Chicago
Gynecological Society. In 1890 Dr. Parkes was chairman of the surgical
section of the International Medical Congress, which was held in London.
Dr. Parkes' specialty was abdominal surgery, in which he was a pioneer
investigator, being one of the first to advocate unting severed intestines. For
the purpose of gaining a better knowledge of both the consequences and treat-
ment of gunshot wounds of the intestine, he made a series of experiments on
forty dogs. The number of recoveries astounded the medical profession and
led to further experiments in all parts of the world.
In connection with Dr. Parkes' work in this field, Dr. Roswell Park wrote:
"During the first half of the previous century, surgery had not included, so
far as I know, complete removal of any organ of the body. Fifty years ago
both the thorax and abdomen were sanctums, in a surgical sense, into which
the surgeon rarely, if ever, ventured to intrude. Thus, no one ventured to
operate for gunshot wounds of the abdominal viscera, especially of the in-
testines, until the matter was taken up by Parkes of Chicago and Bull of New
York. Their initiative has given rise to a line of work and teaching which, a
few years ago, when it was new, startled the entire professional world."
Jacobson's work in operative surgery, published about 1886 in England,
gave Dr. Parkes full credit for priority and originality in the field of gunshot
wounds of the abdomen. His work in the surgery of the gall-bladder, which
was then in its infancy, also was conspicuous in influencing new lines of
treatment. Preceding Dr. Parkes' operations, there were not twenty-five ideal
cholecystotomies.
In 1885, before anyone had operated for the removal of a stone from the
common bile duct, Parkes had worked out and described the operation of
choledochotomy. He had performed this operation in a public clinic at that
time. This was published about 1885 in the Chicago Medical Recorder. Some
years later Dr. Christian Fenger in his article on the ball valve action of a
floating stone in the common duct gave Dr. Parkes credit for this work.
For several years before his death Dr. Parkes had been accumulating ma-
terial for works on general and abdominal surgery, but his sudden death
stopped the writing. The works he left were published under "Clinical Lec-
turers," but there were some fifty or more writings besides these that were
published in the current medical journals.
124
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
ALBERT GARY BEEBE
FERDINAND CARL HOTZ
(Photo by Koehne)
HENRY HOOPER
JAMES HENRY ETHERIDGE
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 125
Dr. Parkes died March 28, 1891. He was survived by Mrs. Parkes, a son,
Charles H. Parkes, who later became a Chicago surgeon, and a daughter,
Miss Irene Edna Parkes, now Mrs. Philip F. Matzinger.
Of Dr. Parkes, Dr. William T. Belfield has written :
''To become one of the dozen leading surgeons of America at forty-eight
years of age is a rare achievement ; in the case of Dr. Parkes this achievement
was unique. For surgery, as we know it, was virtually born only ten years
before his untimely death. Until he attained middle life surgery was a mere
mechanical art ; for the underlying causes of surgical disease were until then
only suspected.
"Yet with the advance of the new surgery Dr. Parkes kept pace ; yes, he led
the vanguard of surgical progress in at least one great field — the operative
treatment of penetrating wounds of the abdomen."
"For years before he was elected professor of surgery he had been one of
the leading surgeons of Chicago," wrote Dr. James H. Etheridge. "Each
week throughout the year up to the time of his death he conducted three sur-
gical clinics which were without parallel in the annals of medical college
teaching. He was among the first to do laparotomies before large classes of
students. It was no uncommon thing for him to open a clinic with a laparo-
tomy and subsequently to perform from four to eight minor operations, be-
sides disposing of as many more dispensary patients in one afternoon.
"As a surgeon and as a teacher of surgery, Dr. Parkes had few equals. His
diagnosis were positive and almost invariably correct. His comprehensive
mind grasped all the conditions present and at once constructed a complete
clinical picture. His extraordinary success with the most formidable surgical
cases was due to his clear judgment, his great manual skill and dexterity and
to his conscientious attention to the minutest details of after treatment. He
never spared himself ; he always gave the best of his knowledge and of his
strength.
"He was a man of large heart, tender sympathy and was considerate and
gentle with rich and poor alike. He was as generous as he was kind; many
are the poor that he treated, not only free of charge, but also supported at the
hospital."
ALBERT GARY BEEBE
(1843-1903)
Dr. Albert Gary Beebe was born May 21, 1843, at Newark, New York.
After attending private schools he entered Genesee College, New York, in
1858, but because of his youth, he decided after the first year to work in his
brother's pharmacy in Chicago for a year or two.
\Yhen war was declared between the north and the south, Dr. Beebe
enlisted in the Fifty-first Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He was present at the
battles of Stone River, Corinth and Murphreesboro. He was taken seriously
ill in 1863 and was invalided home. At this time he was told he could not
live ten years and during the rest of his life it was never possible to count
his pulse because of its irregularity.
He returned to Genesee College and was graduated in 1866. He was gradu-
ated from Hahnemann Medical College of Chicago in 1869 and from the
Bellevue Hospital Medical College in 1870. He thereupon entered into part-
nership with his brother, Gaylord. but in 1872 he moved to the west side,
where he resided the rest of his life.
In 1871 and 1872 Dr. Beebe was professor of physiology and in 1873 pro-
126 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
fessor of surgery in Hahnemann Medical College. During the following
spring the trustees created for him the chair of dermic and orthopedic surgery,
of which he was incumbent for two years. In 1876 he assisted in founding
the Chicago Homeopathic Medical College and assumed the chair of senior
professor of surgery in that institution.
While a member of the staff of Hahnemann Medical College, he was attend-
ing surgeon at the Hahnemann Hospital and, after the founding of the
Chicago Homeopathic Medical College, he was identified with its affiliated
hospital and dispensary. In the spring of 1897 he was appointed attending
surgeon at Cook county hospital and was chief of staff of its homeopathic
department.
Dr. Beebe married Miss Frances Lucy Northway at Horseheads, New
York, March 3, 1870. There were two children, Dr. Leslie Walter Beebe
and Clara Margery Beebe Rickords.
Dr. Beebe \vas an elder in the Third Presbyterian Church from 1880 to 1903.
He died December 4, 1903, after an acute illness of five days.
FERDINAND CARL HOTZ
(1843-1909)
Student at Jena and graduate of Heidelberg, surgeon in the Austrian Army,
and pupil of Graefe, Gruber and Politzer, Dr. Ferdinand Carl Hotz came to
Chicago in 1869 exceptionally equipped for practice.
Dr. Hotz was born in Wertheim, Germany, July 12, 1843. For four years
he studied at the University of Jena, thence proceeding to Heidelberg from
which he was graduated in 1865. During the Austro-Prussian war in 1866 he
was a surgeon in the field. At the conclusion of hostilities he went to Berlin,
where he studied under Graefe, the most famous oculist of his time. Later
his preceptors were the aurists Gruber and Politzer of Vienna.
In 1868 he was appointed house surgeon at the hospital of the University of
Heidelberg and in 1869 he attended clinics in Paris, London, Edinburgh and
Glasgow.
Late in 1869 Dr. Hotz came to Chicago. From 1870 to 1875 he was oculist
and aurist at Cook County Hospital and from 1875 to 1892 he was attending
surgeon at the Illinois Charitable Eye and Ear Infirmary. During his teach-
ing career he was also professor of ophthalmology and otology at the
Woman's Medical College, professor of ophthalmology in the Chicago Poli-
clinic, oculist and aurist at the Presbyterian Hospital and professor of oph-
thalmology and otology at Rush Medical College.
In 1888 he was chairman of the section of ophthalmology and otology of
the American Medical Association. He founded in 1890 the Chicago Society
of Ophthalmology and Otology, of which he was president for three years.
He was a member of the American Medical Association, the Illinois State
Medical Society, of which he was vice president in 1872, and the Chicago
Medical Society, of which he was president in 1892-93.
Beginning in 1875 he served on the public library board for three years.
He married a daughter of F. W. Rosenmerkel, a veteran druggist of Chicago,
in 1873.
He died in Chicago, March 21, 1909.
HENRY HOOPER
(1844-1919)
Dr. Henry Hooper, one of the organizers of the Chicago Policlinic and a
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 127
leading gynecologist in Chicago, was born in Marblehead, Mass., February
13, 1844. After a preliminary education in public schools and from tutors,
he matriculated at Harvard College, from which he received the degree of
A. B. in 1865.
Four years later he was graduated from Harvard Medical School. After
serving an interneship in the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, he
came to Chicago, arriving here shortly before the great fire of 1871.
Professor of obstetrics and gynecology in the Chicago Policlinic, of which
he was treasurer at the time of his death, Dr. Hooper was a member of the
staffs of Alexian Brothers', Passavant Memorial and Henrotin Hospitals.
He was married twice, his first wife being Miss Ethel Plato. A daughter
of that marriage is the wife of Dr. Martin Edwards of Boston. In 1886 Dr.
Hooper married Miss Alice Arnold, who, with a son, Henry Hooper, Jr., sur-
vived him.
He died September 17, 1919.
JAMES HENRY ETHERIDGE
(1844-1899)
Two years' clinical experience in the hospitals of Europe that supplemented
three full courses at Rush Medical College was the equipment that Dr. James
Henry Etheridge took to the chair of therapeutics and medical jurisprudence
when he was summoned to the west side institution in 1871.
Dr. Etheridge was born in St. Johnsville, N. Y., March 20, 1844. He was
the son of Francis B. Etheridge, M. D., whose active practice in New York
State, throughout the Civil War and in Minnesota covered a period of forty-
seven years.
Dr. James H. Etheridge studied medicine at Hastings, Minn., for a short
time preceding matriculation at Rush Medical College. After graduation
from that institution in 1869, he devoted two years to study in the hospitals
of Europe. He returned to Chicago in 1871 and for the following eighteen
years he was professor of therapeutics and medical jurisprudence. At the
close of this period he succeeded Dr. W. H. Byford as professor of obstetrics
and gynecology. He was also a member of the medical staff of the Woman's
Hospital and one of the attending gynecologists of the Central Free
Dispensary.
In 1892 he was appointed professor of obstetrics and gynecology in Chi-
cago Policlinic Hospital and was attending gynecologist in the Policlinic
Hospital and the Presbyterian Hospital.
In 1888 he was elected president of the Chicago Medical Society and in
1890 he was chosen head of the Chicago Gynecological Society. He was
also a member of the American and Illinois State Medical Societies, the Pan-
American Medical Association and a founder and life member of the Inter-
national Association of Obstetrics and Gynecology, whose first meeting was
held at Brussels in September, 1892.
Commissioned major surgeon of the First Brigade, Illinois National Guard,
in 1893, Dr. Etheridge was advanced to the rank of lieutenant colonel and
assistant surgeon general in 1897. From this position he resigned shortly
before his death, February 9, 1899.
Dr. Etheridge married Miss Harriet Elizabeth Powers in June, 1870. She,
with their daughter, Emily, survived him.
128
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
MICHAEL MANNHETMER
RANDOLPH NATHANIEL HALL
HENRY MARTYN BANNISTER
NICHOLAS SENN
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 129
MICHAEL MANNHEIMER
(1844-1891)
Heidelberg and Vienna were among the institutions that gave Dr. Michael
Mannheimer the equipment which enabled him later to become chief attend-
ing surgeon at large Chicago hospitals.
He was born at Moenichsroth, Batavia, March 29, 1844. He was the son of
a physician whose professional life was passed in Moenichsroth. Matriculat-
ing at the University of Munich, Michael Mannheimer continued his studies
at Erlanger under Professor Herz. He afterward spent a year in Vienna,
receiving later a certificate from Heidelberg.
He came to Chicago in 1865 and in 1869 was graduated in medicine from
the University of Louisiana. Returning to Chicago, he received an appoint-
ment as an inspector in the department of health. Here he made an exhaus-
tive study of trichinosis, the results of which were published by Dr. John H.
Ranch, then president of the Illinois State Board of Health.
Dr. Mannheimer joined the staff of Michael Reese Hospital in 1876 and was
its chief attending physician until the close of his life. He was also chief
attending physician at Alexian Brothers Hospital. He was professor of medi-
cine in the Chicago Policlinic and Hospital and a member of the medical staff
of the German American dispensary.
He died at Chicago, August 13, 1891.
RANDOLPH NATHANIEL HALL
(1844-1901)
A drummer boy at Shiloh and Vicksburg and for years a well known phy-
sician in Chicago, Dr. Randolph Nathaniel Hall was born at Eagleville, O.,
April 2, 1844. After the removal of his family to Clay, la., in 1855, he attended
school until the outbreak of the civil war.
In the summer of 1861 he enlisted as a drummer in Company C, Eighth
Iowa Volunteer Infantry. He was present at the battles of Shiloh, the siege
and capture of Vicksburg and in the campaigns in Tennessee, Louisiana and
Alabama.
After being mustered out in 1866 Dr. Hall began the study of medicine in
the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Keokuk, Iowa, and was licensed
to practice in that state in 1869. After practicing in various towns in the west,
Dr, Hall came to Chicago in 1881 and entered Rush Medical College, from
which he was graduated in 1882. Subsequently he was appointed demon-
strator of anatomy in the College of Physicians and Surgeons.
Dr. Hall was one of the organizers of the American Medical College, which
was later absorbed by the Harvey Medical College. In this institution he
held the chair of surgery. In 1895 he organized the Illinois Medical College,
of which he was the first president. Dr. Hall was attending surgeon at St.
Elizabeth's Hospital, the Baptist Hospital and the Mary Thompson Hospital.
Dr. Hall was a member of the Chicago Medical Society, the Illinois State
Medical Society, the American Medical Association, the Therapeutic Club
and the Chicago Pathological Society, of which he was president in 1894.
Dr. Hall died January 1, 1901. He was survived) by his widow, who was
Miss Catherine L. Meacham of Clay, la., and a son, Glenn Hall, now of New
York City.
130 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
HENRY MARTYN BANNISTER
(1844-1920)
Known as a neurologist and a man well versed in medical science, Dr.
Henry Martyn Bannister's first activity as a young man was in assisting
in blazing trails in western states and territories as a member of government
geological surveys.
He was born in Cazenovia, New York, July 25, 1844, the son of Rev.
Henry and Lucy Kimball Bannister. In 1863 he received the degree of
Ph. B. from Northwestern University and six years later that of A. M.
In 1867-68 he had assisted in a geological survey of Illinois.
After he received his medical degree from the National Medical College,
Washington, D. C., in 1871, he was a member of the party which made the
United States Geological Survey of the territories, including Alaska. Fol-
lowing this he located in Chicago, where he began the practice of medicine
in 1874.
With the late Dr. James S. Jewell he founded and jointly edited the
Journal of Nervous and Mental Diseases and he was co-author with the
late Dr. Daniel R. Brower of a textbook on insanity. For several years he
was assistant superintendent of the Kankakee State Hospital for the Insane.
He was for many years a member of the editorial staff of the Journal of
the American Medical Association.
On June 14, 1887, he married Miss Delia C. Ladd of Chicago, who sur-
vived him upon his death, May 1, 1920, at his home in Evanston.
Of Dr. Bannister it was said :
"He was a man wonderfully well read in medical science, and was
learned, not only in his own specialty but in the broad fields of literature
and science ; a man of delightful personality and beloved by all who knew
him."
NICHOLAS SENN
(1844-1908)
"Several years ago when the question of the auto-inoculability of cancer
was under discussion in the medical press and the claim was made by east-
ern surgeons of considerable prominence that they had succeeded in their
engrafting experiments, Dr. Senn was visiting at my house. I observed when
he was dressing for dinner a collodion crust on his left forearm and inquired
the cause of such an unusual injury. His answers were evasive and unsatis-
factory, but when I became insistent he confessed he had had two carcino-
matous growths inserted into his arm to test the matter. Had the experi-
ment succeeded, his would have been another life sacrificed to the cause of
science and he would have accepted his martyrdom without a murmur."
(S. M. Wylie, M. D.)
That was Nicholas Senn, Master of Surgery.
"And yet the world actually knows but little of the indebtedness of science
to him and of his unselfish labors in its behalf," writes Dr. Wylie. "In his
laboratory, constructed under the sidewalk and connected with his office
building in Milwaukee, the existence of which was known only to a few
friends, night after night, for years, he carried on his original investigations
and dissections of guinea pigs, rabbits, sheep, calves and human cadavers,
toiling alone, working frequently all night over these ghastly remnants of the
dead or experimental vivisection of the living animal that it might yield
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 131
some truth to benefit humanity. Here he conducted his experiments, the
results of which he gave to the world in dicta of great value."
Nicholas Senn was born in the Canton of St. Gaul, Switzerland, October
31, 1844. In 1852, the family moved to Washington County, Wisconsin, and
the future surgeon received his preliminary education in Fond du Lac.
In 1868, he received his medical degree from the Chicago Medical College
and then served as interne in Cook County Hospital for eighteen months.
After this, he began practice in Ashford, Wisconsin. Six years later he
moved to Milwaukee, where he was appointed attending physician at Mil-
waukee Hospital. In 1877 he visited Europe and the following year was
graduated "cum laude" from the University of Munich. While in Munich,
he was the pupil of von Nussbaum, one of the great surgeons of his time.
In 1882, after his return from Europe, he was appointed professor of sur-
gery in the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Chicago, but for some
time continued to reside in Milwaukee. It was at this time that he was
appointed surgeon-general of the national guard of Wisconsin. He was
elected to the chair of the principles of surgery and surgical pathology
in Rush Medical College in 1888 and in 1891 he succeeded Dr. Charles T.
Parkes in the chair of practice of surgery and clinical surgery in the same
institution.
From the beginning of his practice, Dr. Senn was a teacher. Speaking of
his lectures in Chicago, Dr. A. J. Ochsner says, "There never were such lec-
tures on this subject before."
In 1892, Dr. Senn was the founder and first president of the Association
of Military Surgeons of the National Guard of the United States. The fol-
lowing year, soon after the inauguration of Governor Altgeld, he was
appointed surgeon-general of the national guard of Illinois. In 1894, he was
elected president of the Chicago Medical Society and in 1897 president of
the American Medical Association. The latter year he was one of ten
selected to address the Twelfth International Medical Congress, which met
that year in Moscow.
At the outbreak of the Spanish-American war, he offered his services for
active assignment at the front. He was present at the battle of El Caney
and performed distinguished service in the Cuban campaign.
In 1899 he was invited to deliver the "Lane Lecture," in Cooper Medical
College in San Francisco. He was honored with numerous degrees, includ-
ing that of Magister Chirurgiae, which he received from a British institution.
In addition to his service in Rush Medical College, he was professor of
surgery in the Chicago Policlinic. He also held appointments as surgeon-
in-chief of St. Joseph's and the Presbyterian hospitals. He was also pro-
fessor of surgery and military surgery in the University of Chicago.
Dr. Senn's early experimental work in abdominal surgery made him fore-
most in this field, and his researches in intestinal perforations, particularly
in gunshot wounds, added greatly to the knowledge of the subject. He did
much to develop modern ideas in surgical tuberculosis, and published a mono-
graph on "Surgery of the Pancreas" in 1885, based on extensive experimen-
tation.
Among his other books were, "Experimental Surgery," "Intestinal Sur-
gery," "Surgical Bacteriology," "Principles of Surgery" and "Pathology and
Surgical Treatment of Tumors." He stands sponsor for twenty-three pub-
lished books.
132
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
JOHN w. TOPE
ALBERT B. STRONG
CHARLES H. VILAS
133
Dr. Senn was an enthusiastic traveler and explorer and wrote entertain-
ingly of his travels. Books of this nature included, "Around the World via
Siberia," "Around the World via India," "Our Recreation Parks," "Tahiti, the
Island Paradise," "In the Heart of the Arctics," "Travels in Africa" and
"Travels in South America."
A lasting monument to his memory is known as the "Senn Collection," a
medical library representing an outlay of $50,000, which Dr. Senn first pre-
sented to the Newberry Library and which later was transferred to the
John Crerar Library. The medical section of the John Crerar Library cen-
ters around the Senn Room, which is a mecca for the medical profession of
the northwest.
Another gift of Dr. Senn's was a donation of $50,000 toward a clinical
building for Rush Medical College, devoted to clinical and laboratory pur-
poses and erected at a total cost of $127,500. It now bears the name of
Senn Memorial Building.
He endowed with $25,000 the Senn professorship of surgery in Rush Medi-
cal College, and with $15,000 the Senn fellowship in surgery in the same
institution. In St. Joseph's Hospital he endowed with $35,000 a room for
the perpetual care of members of the medical profession. Dr. William E.
Quine has said, "Nicholas Senn, as a man, has done more for the medical
profession than all other physicians combined who have ever lived in this
great city."
While ascending the Andes, Dr. Senn was stricken with dilatation of the
heart and died January 12, 1908. He was survived by his widow, formerly
Miss Aurelia S. Millhouser of La Crosse, Wisconsin, and two sons, Dr.
Emanuel J. and Dr. William N. Senn.
CHARLES WARRINGTON EARLE
(1845-1893)
Co-founder of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Chicago and the
Woman's Medical College, Dr. Charles Warrington Earle had come to Chi-
cago after an exceptional career in the Union army.
He was born in Westford, Chittenden County, Vt., April 2, 1845, the son
of Moses L. Earle. He was of English ancestry and a lineal descendant of
Ralph Earle of Exeter, England, who came to Rhode Island about 1634. In
1854 the father of Dr. Earle moved to Lake County, 111., where the boy's
early years were passed in the country.
Although he was only sixteen years old when the Civil war began, he
enlisted in the Fifteenth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, but during the campaign
in Missouri his health failed and he was discharged for disability. In August,
1862, he again enlisted, this time as a private in the Ninety-sixth Illinois Vol-
unteer Infantry, later being promoted to a lieutenancy and commanding his
company at the battle of Chickamauga. Three times wounded on Missionary
Ridge, he was captured and sent to Libby prison, from which he escaped and
reached the Union lines after enduring intense privation. At the end of a
thirty-day leave, Dr. Earle returned to his regiment and was brevetted cap-
tain for gallant conduct in subsequent engagements.
After the war Dr. Earle attended Beloit College and received the degree
of A. M. in 1868. He then studied medicine in the office of Dr. William H.
Byford and was graduated from the Chicago Medical College in 1870. The
same year he aided in the organization of the Woman's Medical College and
134 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
became professor of physiology. Upon the death of Dr. Byford in 1890, he
became president of the institution. For many years he was professor of dis-
ea,ses of children in this school. He was one of the strongest advocates of
medical education for women and wrote and published several articles setting
forth their claims.
In 1876 Dr. Earle undertook the establishment of a new medical college.
The project did not materialize, but in 1881, with Doctors A. Reeves Jackson,
D. A. K. Steele, Samuel A. McWilliams and Leonard St. John, he incorporated
the College of Physicians and Surgeons, which was opened the following
year. He was professor of obstetrics in the institution until his death, and
also served as president of the corporation for the year preceding his death.
In 1892 he was elected professor of obstetrics and diseases of children in Rush
Medical College, but resigned soon after beginning his duties.
Aside from his teaching he conducted a large private and consultation
practice, especially in obstetrics and diseases of children. He prepared
numerous papers upon subjects related to these fields for medical societies,
which were published in current journals. He also wrote for "Keatings'
Cyclopedia of Diseases of Children" and for the "American Text-Book of
Diseases of Children."
Dr. Earle was an organizer and president of the Chicago Gynecological
Society and at the time of his death was president of the Chicago Medical
Society. He had also served as president of the Illinois State Medical
Society.
In 1871 he married Miss Fanny L. Bundy of Beloit, Wis., who died
April 13, 1915. Their children were William Byford Earle, who died July 22,
1914, and Miss Carrie Earle, who became the wife of Dr. George H. Weaver
of Chicago.
Dr. Earle died November 19, 1893, of cerebrospinal-meningitis.
/
JOHN W . TOPE
(1845-1910)
When Oak Park was a small village of but a few souls, Dr. John W. Tope
became an early settler. Beginning as a country practitioner, he was for
thirty-four years a familiar figure in the village and the surrounding country.
He was born on a farm near New Philadelphia, Ohio, November 10, 1845.
At the age of sixteen years he enlisted in Company I of the Thirtieth Ohio
Volunteer Infantry and served four years. He came to Chicago in 1867 to
attend Rush Medical College, from which he was graduated in 1870.
After serving as an interne at Cook County Hospital, he was appointed
superintendent of Cook County Hospital for the Insane at Dunning and held
this position for four years. He then practiced in Mont Clare, Illinois, for a
year and in 1876 settled in Oak Park. For fourteen years Dr. Tope was a
member of the surgical staff of Cook County Hospital. He founded the
Oak Park Hospital in 1905 and was elected president of its medical staff,
holding this position until his death.
He was a member of the American Medical Association, the Illinois State
Medical Society and the Chicago Medical Society, serving as president of the
Aux Plaines branch of the last-named organization. Shortly before his
death he was elected president of the Rush Medical College Alumni Associa-
tion.
On January 31, 1880, he married Miss Delia Whaples, who, with two
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 135
sons, Oliver E. Tope and Dr. John W. Tope, survived him. The latter suc-
ceeded his father in practice in Oak Park.
Dr. Tope died June 18, 1910, after an active practice of forty years.
ALBERT B. STRONG
(1845-1900)
Dr. Albert B. Strong was born in Galesburg, Illinois, in 1845. He
attended Rush Medical College, from which he was graduated in 1872, and
during his senior year served as an interne at St. Luke's Hospital. This
was followed by an interneship at Cook County Hospital from July, 1872,
until February, 1874.
From March, 1874, until October, 1875, he lectured on materia medica and
therapeutics in Rush Medical College. At the latter date he was elected
demonstrator of anatomy and lecturer on this subject in the spring course
of that institution. He held these positions for ten years.
He was an active member of the American Medical Association and the
Chicago Medical and Illinois State Medical societies. He died March 16,
1900.
CHARLES H. VILAS
(1846-1920)
Dr. Charles H. Vilas, one of the most distinguished sons of Hahnemann
Medical College, was of New England ancestry. He was born in Chelsea,
Vermont, July 22, 1846. His father, Levi Vilas, was a citizen of renown in
Madison, Wisconsin during and long after the days of the rebellion.
Dr. Vilas was five years old when his family moved to Madison. Here
he obtained his education, graduating from the University of Wisconsin in
1865 at the age of nineteen. He was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa scholar-
ship fraternity and in 1868 was accorded the degree of Master of Arts.
One year after his graduation he began the study of medicine in the
office of Dr. L. S. Ingram of Madison, continuing his studies at Hahnemann
Medical College of Chicago. He received his degree from that institution
in 1873, completing his education in Bellevue Hospital, New York.
He accepted the first professorship in ophthalmology and otology in Hahne-
mann Medical College in 1876 and continued in this work for a quarter of
a century.
Later he was elected dean of the faculty and after the death of Dr. Reuben
Ludlam, was chosen president of the college. He continued in that capacity
until his voluntary retirement. He was then made president emeritus and
held that position until the time of his death.
During the course of his active professional work, he made frequent trips
to European centers in quest of scientific knowledge and attended the medi-
cal congresses at Paris, London and Moscow between 1876 and 1895.
After twenty-five years of practice, Dr. Vilas satisfied a long-cherished
wish to visit foreign countries. He traveled in China, Japan. India and in
Northern Africa.
Upon his return, he made his home in Madison, where "he enacted the
role of a benevolent, kindly, helpful, beloved member of society, bestowing
time abundantly upon the university, the Unitarian church and giving of
his means and his knowledge to hospitals and charities of all kinds."
For many years he was deeply interested in the University of Wisconsin
and in 1916 he was appointed by the Governor of Wisconsin a member of the
136
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
CHARLES WESLEY PURDY
WILLIAM H. WOODYATT
NICHOLAS B. DELAMATER
(Photo by Walinger)
ALFRED CLEVELAND COTTON
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 137
board of regents, a position his father had held for fifteen years. He suc-
ceeded to the presidency of the board and chairmanship of the executive
committee, which positions he held until a few weeks before his death.
He died at his home, November 22, 1920.
CHARLES WESLEY PURDY
(1846-1901)
Distinguished urologist and author of what has been described as the most
systematic and practical presentation of urinary diagnostic methods in the
English language, Dr. Charles Wesley Purdy was for thirty years a teacher
and practitioner in Chicago.
Dr. Purdy was born at Collins Bay, Ontario, in 1846. He received his
academic training at Victoria College, Coburg, Ontario, and graduated in
medicine from Queen's University, Ontario, in 1869. Dr. Purdy came to
Chicago in 1871, shortly after the great fire. He is said to have been the first
physician to open an office in the burned district.
Dr. Purdy was a keen observer and ardent student of medicine, his interest
being mainly devoted to diseases of the kidneys and diabetes. He published
three notable books on these subjects. Dr. Purdy was for several years
professor of genito-urinary and renal diseases in the Chicago Policlinic and
from 1895 to 1898 professor of medicine (urinary diseases) in the Chicago
Postgraduate Medical School. In 1888 he was elected Fellow of the Royal
College of Physicians and Surgeons, Ontario, and in 1897 was honored with
the degree of Doctor of Laws from Queen's University.
From 1880 until his death Dr. Purdy was a member of the Chicago Medical
Society. He was also a member of the American Medical Association, Asso-
ciation of American Physicians, Chicago Academy of Sciences, Illinois Micro-
scopical Society, British Medical Association, Illinois State Medical Society,
and the Chicago Society of Internal Medicine.
In 1887 he married Miss Florence Hoffman of Oak Park, 111. There was
one son, Wesley Purdy. Dr. Purdy died of uremia, January 20, 1901.
"Dr. Purdy," says Dr. Arthur R. Elliott, "was a notable member of the
small coterie of men, the strong originality and authority of whose work first
drew the attention of the medical world to Chicago as a medical center. He
was a careful and original observer, contributing many interesting articles
on urinary diseases to current medical literature. His book on 'Bright's
Disease and Allied Affections of the Kidneys' appeared in 1886, being pub-
lished by H. K. Lewis, London. It proved a notable contribution to the
literature of that subject. In 1890 there followed his 'Diabetes: Its Causes,
Symptoms and Treatment,' the book being inscribed to his former teacher in
clinical medicine, Thomas Grainger Stewart, professor of physic and of
clinical medicine, University of Edinburgh.
"In 1894 appeared his last medical treatise, 'Practical Urinalysis and Uri-
nary Diagnosis.' This proved to be the most systematic and practical presen-
tation of urinary diagnostic methods in the English language and it remained
for many years an approved authority and textbook on the subject. It\ran
through several editions and at the time of Dr. Purdy 's death its popularity
was still unimpaired. In recent years this excellent book and similar treatises
on special branches of clinical diagnosis have been displaced by more com-
prehensive and inclusive general textbooks on laboratory methods.
"It stands to Dr. Purdy's credit that he devised many methods which
greatly facilitated urinary diagnosis. It is due to him that volumetric
138 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
centrifugal estimation of urinary solids was rendered available for clinical
purposes, and Purdy's test for the detection and quantitation of sugar in the
urine is still extensively employed.
"Dr. Purdy was a man and physician of the type that maintains the tradi-
tional dignity of the medical profession. Reserved, but sympathetic and
gracious to his patients, he possessed a keen sense of humor and was a
delightful companion to his intimates. His most salient characteristic was an
honest uprightness of purpose and judgment."
WILLIAM H. WOODYATT
(1846-1880)
Dr. William H. Woodyatt was born in 1846 at Brantford, Ontario. In his
thirteenth year the state of his family's finances necessitated his leaving
school and beginning to earn his own living. He did this continuously from
that early time and never received financial aid. At sixteen years of age he
entered the office of the Montreal Telegraph Company and at nineteen he
became manager of the King Avenue office of the company.
Being determined to study medicine, he prepared for entrance to the
Cleveland Hospital College, studying with Dr. H. C. Allen in Brantford. In
1869 he was graduated with honors, being class valedictorian. In order to
continue the study of his chosen specialty of eye and ear, he then spent two
years in New York attending the clinics of the New York Ophthalmic Hos-
pital and assisting the elder Dr. Knapp at Manhattan Hospital. To support
himself he worked at night in the office of the Associated Press, becoming
known as one of the two most expert telegraphers in the United States.
In 1871 he opened an office in Chicago and was appointed lecturer upon
ophthalmology and otology in Hahnemann College, where he was elected
professor the following year.
In 1876, before the opening of the new Chicago Homeopathic College, he
resigned from Hahnemann to accept the chair of ophthalmology and otology
in this institution. He remained working in this college, holding large
clinics and teaching, in addition to meeting the exacting demands of his
private practice, until his death from malignant diphtheria in 1880.
In 1873 he married Miss Clara Burnham of Chicago, who, with two sons,
Ernest and Rollin Turner Woodyatt, survive him. The latter son is a Chi-
cago physician.
NICHOLAS B. DELAMATER
(1847-1915)
Of Revolutionary ancestry, Dr. Nicholas B. Delamater, neurologist and
one of the founders of the Chicago Homeopathic Medical College, was him-
self an ardent patriot.
Born in Albany County, New York, February 21, 1847, he was a student
at Harvard University when he was impelled, in 1863, to join the Seventeenth
United States Infantry. He continued in active service until the close of the
war, participating in the battle of Gettysburg and the campaign of the Wilder-
ness. He was wounded at the battle of Fair Oaks.
At the conclusion of hostilities, having been promoted to the rank of Major,
Dr. Delamater engaged for three years in the dry goods trade at Richmond,
Indiana.
After these years of army service and business life he engaged in farming
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 139
and taught school. Then he entered Hahnemann Medical College, graduating
from that institution in 1873. Subsequently he received the degree of A. M.
from Harvard University.
He first established himself in practice in Chicago, beginning his profes-
sional career as a junior partner of the late Dr. E. M. Hale. In 1874 he was
appointed lecturer on medical botany, pharmacology and provings at Hahne-
mann. In 1876 he was appointed special lecturer on electro-therapeutics in
the same college. In the same year Dr. Delamater was one of the organizers
of the Chicago Homeopathic Medical College. He was chosen its first lec-
turer on mental and nervous diseases. In 1881 he was elected to the full
professorship. For some years he was also manager of the college. Later
he became secretary of the institution.
After the amalgamation of Hahnemann Medical College and Chicago
Homeopathic Medical College in 1905 he occupied the chair of mental and
nervous diseases in Hahnemann until 1909, when health failed him and he
moved to Sanford, Florida, where he remained until 1914.
He was attending neurologist at the Chicago Homeopathic Hospital, con-
sulting neurologist of the Chicago Baptist Hospital and attending neurologist
at the Streeter Hospital. He was a member of the American Institute of
Homeopathy, the Illinois State Homeopathic Association, the Chicago Acad-
emy of Homeopathy and other professional, social and fraternal organiza-
tions.
He married Miss Ella J. Link of Woodstock, Illinois, November 3, 1870.
Mrs. Delamater was a member of the board of managers of the Chicago
Orphan Asylum. She survived him upon his death March 11, 1915.
ALFRED CLEVELAND COTTON
(1847-1916)
Combat soldier in the civil war, graduate of Rush Medical College and
professor in that institution, Dr. Alfred Cleveland Cotton was for nearly
forty years prominent in the professional life of Chicago. In 1908-9 he was
president of the Chicago Medical Society.
Dr. Cotton was born at Griggsville, 111., May 18, 1847. When sixteen years
old he enlisted in the One Hundred and Thirty-seventh Illinois Volunteers.
Having been wounded, he was captured and sent to a southern prison, where
he remained for several months.
Dr. Cotton was graduated from the Illinois State Normal School in 1869.
In 1873 he was deputy superintendent of schools of Iroquois County and a
medical student under Dr. J. R. Stoner of Griggsville. Five years later Dr.
Cotton was graduated from Rush Medical College.
His first practice was at Turner, DuPage County, where he was coroner
from 1878 to 1881. In 1882 Dr. Cotton began the practice of medicine in
Chicago, where he specialized in the diseases of children. In 1886 he received
the degree of Master of Arts from Illinois College and in 1888 he was made
adjunct professor of materia medica and therapeutics in Rush Medical College.
Upon the death of Dr. J. Suydam Knox, Dr. Cotton was appointed to
succeed him in the chair of pediatrics. Later the chair of diseases of children
was created for him and he held this position until his death. Dr. Cotton for
many years was attending and consulting physician to the Central Free
Dispensary and the Presbyterian Hospital. In the latter he was also obste-
trician. He was lecturer to the Illinois Training School for Nurses
140
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
(Photo by Koehne)
FERNAND HENROTIN
ALBERT EDWARD HOADLEY
JOHN BROWN HAMILTON
HENRY BANGA
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 141
for several terms. He was attending physician at St. Mary's Home for
Babies, superintendent of the Jackson Park Sanitarium and consultant to the
Children's Memorial Hospital.
He was a delegate to the International Medical Congress at Moscow
in 1897, at Madrid in 1903 and at London in 1913. He was a frequent con-
tributor to medical literature and author of several text books. Among his
writings were "Diseases of Children," "Anatomy, Physiology and Hygiene of
the Developing Period," and "Care of the Infant."
In addition to being elected to the presidency of the Chicago Medical
Society, Dr. Cotton served as president of the Illinois State Medical Society,
the American Pediatric Society, the Chicago Pediatric Society and the Chi-
cago Medical Examiners' Association.
Dr. Cotton married Miss Nettie U. McDonald, May 2, 1893. He died July
12, 1916. Two children, John R. and Mildred C. Cotton, survived him.
FERNAND HENROTIN
(1847-1906)
Henrotin Hospital perpetuates the memory of Dr. Fernand Henrotin, some-
time president of the Chicago Medical Society and for thirty-eight years a
conspicuous figure in the professional life of Chicago.
Dr. Henrotin was born in Brussels, Belgium, September 28, 1847. His
father, Joseph F. Henrotin, M. D., was a graduate of the University of Liege
and surgeon in the Belgian Army until 1848, when he came to Chicago and
began the practice of medicine. In 1857 he became Belgian Consul, a position
which he held until his death in 1876.
Dr. Fernand Henrotin was graduated from Rush Medical College in 1868
and until 1870 he was an instructor in that institution. From 1877 to 1878 he
was county physician. He was surgeon of the police department for fifteen
years and of the fire department for twenty-one years. He was also surgeon
of the First Brigade, Illinois N.ational Guard, attending surgeon at Alexian
Brothers Hospital, and for many years a member of the staff of the Cook
County Hospital, being president of the medical board at the time of his
death.
Dr. Henrotin was one of the founders of the Chicago Policlinic, where he
served as professor of gynecology from the beginning until his death, con-
sulting gynecologist at St. Joseph's Hospital, attending gynecologist at St.
Luke's and the German hospitals and consulting surgeon at St. Mary's Ma-
ternity Home. He was a member of the American Medical Association and
the Illinois State and Chicago 'Medical societies, being vice-president of the
last-named in 1896 and president in 1897.
Another position held by him was that of Secretary General for America
of the International Gynecological and Obstetrical Congress. He was also
one of the founders of the Association of Military Surgeons of Illinois, and
never lost sight of the interests of military medical affairs in this state.
His special leaning was to operative gynecology, and all of his scientific
literary productions pertain to this branch of surgery. He was a frequent
contributor to medical journals and the author of several medical works.
Among his writings were a chapter on ectopic gestation in "Practice of Ob-
stetrics, by American Authors," and an article on gynecology in the "Interna-
tional Text-Book of Surgery." On his deathbed he virtually completed the
chapter on vaginal hysterectomy for Kelly and Noble's "Gynecology and
Abdominal Surgery."
142 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
On April 24, 1873, Dr. Henrotin married Miss Emile B. Trussing of Chi-
cago. He died in Chicago December 9, 1906. The following year, to preserve
his memory, his name was conferred upon the hospital he had helped to
establish at 939 North LaSalle Street.
ALBERT EDWARD HOADLEY
(1847-1899)
A member of the first staff of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of
Chicago and president of the Chicago Medical Society in 1889-90, Dr. Albert
Edward Hoadley traversed a wide range of activities during his career in
Chicago.
Dr. Hoadley was born in Chenango County, N. Y., November 19, 1847.
His parents removed to Illinois and settled near Elgin in 1860. They later
proceeded to Amboy, 111., where he attended high school and began his
medical studies under Dr. J. R. Corbus and Dr. Stewart C. Pitcher. He
was graduated from the Chicago Medical College in 1872. During the next
ten years he engaged in general practice.
In 1882, when the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Chicago was
opened, Dr. Hoadley joined the faculty as professor of anatomy. In 1888
he became professor of orthopedic surgery, the title being changed in 1891
to professor of orthopedic surgery, surgical diseases of the joints and clinical
surgery. In the latter year Dr. Hoadley was elected to the presidency of the
West Side Free Dispensary. In 1893 he was elected vice-president of the
College of Physicians and Surgeons.
Dr. Hoadley was also a director of the Policlinic Hospital and a director
and surgeon of the Home for Crippled Children, surgeon to the Cook County
Hospital and to the Railroad Brotherhood Hospital.
He was a member of the Chicago Pathological Society, the Medico-Legal
Society, the Practitioners' Club, the American Orthopedic Association, the
American Public Health Association, the American Medical Association and
the Illinois State and Chicago Medical societies.
In 1862 he retired from general practice and devoted himself exclusively
to surgery and orthopedics. He died January 16, 1899.
JOHN BROWN HAMILTON
(1847-1898)
Sometime head of the Marine Hospital Service, Dr. John B. Hamilton was
a sanitarian of international reputation.
Of his devotion to the public health, United States Senator Spooner said in
the upper house of Congress : "When Florida was stricken with yellow fever
Dr. Hamilton did not choose to be a mere bureau officer. He was my neigh-
bor at that time and, to my knowledge, he left his home and his family, went
south and stayed there in daily contact with this epidemic, physicians dying
around him, giving personal attention to the duties of his office."
Dr. Hamilton was born in Jersey County, Illinois, December 1, 1847. He
was graduated from Rush Medical College in 1869 and practiced medicine in
Chicago until 1874. By competitive examination he entered the army that
year as assistant surgeon, serving until 1876, when he resigned. Again by
competitive examination he entered the Marine Hospital Service, in which he
rose to the rank of Supervising Surgeon General. In this department he won
renown as a sanitarian of the first rank. His activity in combating yellow
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 143
fever, small pox and leprosy gained for him praise not only in this country,
but in Europe.
Dr. Hamilton drafted the inter-state quarantine law which was passed in
1890.
While head of the Marine Hospital Service with station in Washington,
Dr. Hamilton was surgeon to Providence Hospital and was professor of sur-
gery in Georgetown University, which institution conferred upon him the
degree of Doctor of Laws.
In 1887 Dr. Hamilton was secretary-general of the International Medical
Congress in Washington, and in 1890 was a delegate to the International
Medical Congress held in London.
Dr. Hamilton resigned as Supervising Surgeon General of the Marine
Service in 1891 over a question of salary. However, he re-entered the or-
ganization as surgeon and was assigned to duty at Chicago. Here he was
made professor of the principles and practice of surgery and clinical surgery
in Rush Medical College. He was also surgeon to the Presbyterian Hospital,
professor of surgery in the Chicago Policlinic, Consulting Surgeon to St.
Joseph's Hospital and the Central Free Dispensary.
In 1893 Dr. Hamilton became editor of the Journal of the American Medical
Association, holding this position for four years. Shortly before his death he
was appointed superintendent of the Illinois Northern Hospital for the Insane
at Elgin. He died at Elgin, December 24, 1898.
HENRY BANGA
(1848-1913)
Pioneer in asepsis and antisepsis, Dr. Henry Banga was for more than
thirty years professor of gynecology in the Chicago Policlinic and for an
equal period was gynecologist to Michael Reese Hospital and attending
physician at the United Hebrew Dispensary.
He was born at Leistal, Switzerland, February 14, 1848. His father occu-
pied the highest executive office in the government of the canton of Baselland.
The elder Banga was a distinguished scientist and was the author of the
constitution of his canton, as well as the school laws of the district.
After graduation from the college in Basel, the younger Banga entered the
University of Basel as a student of medicine. There he came under the
influence of Prof. His, who was then conducting his well-known investiga-
tions in embryology.
Dr. Banga's graduation from the University of Basel in 1871 was preceded
by his service as a volunteer surgeon in the German Army during the war
with France in 1870. After graduation he became an assistant of Prof.
Bischoff in the gynecological clinic. His inclination toward surgery soon
led him, however, to the surgical clinic of Prof. Socin.
In 1875 he came to Chicago, where his success was due to three features:
his experience in antisepsis, his exceptional training as a surgeon and gyne-
cologist, and his character and appearance. True to the education he received
in his youth, Dr. Banga was an accurate observer and, therefore, a fine
diagnostician. He was a pioneer and far ahead of his time. For example,
he recognized and operated upon extrauterine pregnancies as early as 1889.
Dr. Banga was one of the organizers of the Chicago Policlinic and with
Dr. Ernst Schmidt helped to organize the staff of Michael Reese Hospital.
While serving at the hospital, his treatment of a case became of great impor-
tance in the development of antisepsis. A man was brought in suffering from
144
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
(Photo by Moffett)
EPHRAIM FLETCHER INGALS
MARCUS PATTEN HATFIELD
DAVID JOSEPH DOHERTY
FREDERICK CHRISTIAN SCHAEFER
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 145
an open fracture and luxation of the elbow, into which street dirt had been
rubbed. Dr. Banga washed out the wound, filled it with carbolated oil and
closed it, the patient later being discharged with a normal functioning elbow.
At that time the indication would have been exarticulation in the shoulder.
Dr.. Banga never married. A sister, Emilie, kept house for him in North
LaSalle Street from 1875 until his death. This occurred suddenly, December
24, 1913, while attending an obstetrical case.
EPHRAIM FLETCHER INGALS
(1848-1918)
Dr. E. Fletcher Ingals' fervent devotion to the cause of medical education
was exemplified during his own last illness. While lying in bed, a victim
of angina pectoris, he made minute observations of the ailment, which
formed the basis of a monograph read at a meeting of the Institute of
Medicine of Chicago, March 28, 1918. He died in a paroxysm of angina a
month later, having utilized his own suffering for the benefit of humanity.
A leading laryngologist in the city, he will be especially remembered as
an untiring and successful advocate of the affiliation of Rush Medical Col-
lege with the University of Chicago.
Dr. Ingals was born at Lee Center, Lee County, Illinois, September 29,
1848. After receiving an academic education he came to Chicago to live
with his uncle, Dr. Ephraim Ingals, professor of materia medica and thera-
peutics at Rush Medical College. From this institution the younger Ingals
was graduated in 1871.
Assistant professor of materia medica in Rush Medical College from
1871 to 1873, he became lecturer on diseases of the chest and physical diag-
nosis in 1874. From 1883 to 1890 he was professor of laryngology and pro-
fessor of the practice of medicine from 1890 to 1893. Under various but
similar titles he continued his work at Rush until his death, being also
comptroller after 1898.
Dr. Ingals was professor of diseases of the throat and chest in the North-
western University Woman's Medical School, 1879 to 1898, professor of
laryngology and rhinology in the Chicago Policlinic after 1890, and from
1901 lecturer on medicine in the University of Chicago.
In connection with a large private and hospital practice, Dr. Ingals was
also an active and influential member of many of the most important medical
societies. He was a charter member of the American Laryngological Asso-
ciation in 1878 and its president in 1887. He was also a charter member and
president of the American Climatological Association, as well as a member
of the American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, and
chairman of the section on laryngology of the Pan-American Congress in
1883. In 1899 Dr. Ingals organized the Chicago Laryngological and Clima-
tological Society, now the Chicago Laryngological and Otological Society,
and was its first president. He was also active in the organization of the
Institute of Medicine of Chicago. He was for many years a delegate to the
International Medical Congress.
Dr. Ingals' largest literary production was his work on "Diseases of the
Chest, Throat and Nasal Cavities." This ran into several editions. His
medical papers, about 150 in all, appeared in various journals. Many of the
important articles on his special work are contained in the transactions of
the American Laryngological Association.
146 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
Considerable clinical study was given by Dr. Ingals to bronchoscopy, for
which he devised or modified many instruments. Even more attention was
given to an operation for intranasal drainage of the frontal sinuses, on which
he presented a number of papers to show the correctness of his point of
view.
It was Dr. Ingals who was most active in promoting the affiliation of
Rush Medical College with the University of Chicago, and it was he who
personally persuaded Dr. William Rainey Harper of the desirability of the
move.
In 1876 he married Lucy S., daughter of Dr. Ephraim Ingals, his uncle.
There were seven children, four of whom, with their mother, survived him.
They are Francis E., Melissa R., Mary G. and E. Fletcher Ingals, Jr.
Dr. Ingals died April 30, 1918.
MARCUS PATTEN HATFIELD
(1849-1909)
One of the founders of Wesley Hospital, Dr. Marcus Patten Hatfield was
a graduate of the Chicago Medical College and a post-graduate student in the
hospitals of Berlin, Vienna, Zurich and London.
He was born in New York City, February 20, 1849. He matriculated at the
old University of Chicago, but completed his academic course at Wesleyan
University, from which he later received the degree of Master of Arts.
Graduating from the Chicago Medical College in 1872, Dr. Hatfield became
an interne at Mercy Hospital and during 1873 he did post-graduate work in
German, Austrian, Swiss and English hospitals.
From 1875 to 1881 Dr. Hatfield was professor of chemistry and, from 1881
to 1896, professor of diseases of children in the Chicago Medical College.
Later he was professor of pediatrics in the College of Physicans and Surgeons
of Chicago.
Dr. Hatfield helped to organize Wesley Hospital and, until the time of his
death, he was a member of its executive committee. He was assistant editor
of "Archives of Pediatrics," a member of the American Medical Association,
the American Academy of Medicine and a member of the section on diseases
of children at the Ninth International Medical Congress.
Dr. Hatfield was the author of "Practical Urinalysis," "The Physiology and
Hygiene of the House in Which We Live," "Compendium of the Diseases of
Children" and other works.
In 1876 Dr. Hatfield married Miss Harriet Harris, daughter of Bishop Wil-
liam L. Harris of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He died in Chicago,
November 11, 1909.
DAVID JOSEPH DOHERTY
(1850-1908)
"Dr. Doherty, Deutscher Arzt."
This was the sign that hung for years at North Avenue and Dayton Street,
in the heart of the German-American district. It expressed the humor and
cosmopolitanism of Dr. David Joseph Doherty, of Irish origin, who was an
accomplished linguist and particularly adept in German. For many years
he practiced among his Teuton neighbors, counselling them in their own
tongue.
Dr. Doherty was born in St. Louis, Mo., April 25, 1850. His parents
destined him for the priesthood, but instead he studied medicine and was
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 147
graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1887 and from the University
of Freiburg, Germany, in 1888.
Upon his return from Germany, he began his practice in North Avenue.
He was also medical examiner for a large life insurance company.
Becoming interested in the Philippine Islands, he visited the archipelago
three times and, while there, learned Tagalog, the principal dialect of
the islands, adding this to his knowledge of English, German, French, Italian
and Spanish. His linguistic research was so thorough that he compiled an
English-Tagalog grammar and a dictionary.
Infant mortality in the city of Manila being between 60 and 70 per cent
during one of his visits, he spent $10,000 of his own money and that of his
friends in the establishment of a station where fresh milk was dispensed and
where instructions in baby feeding were given.
Dr. Doherty was associate professor of gynecology in the Chicago Poli-
clinic and was associated with that institution for twenty years. He was an
active member of the Chicago Medical Society, first as necrologist and later
as secretary and treasurer. He compiled the first history of the society from
its archives. During the time that the society held its meetings in the Chicago
Public Library, he organized free weekly lectures on medical subjects and
obtained many of the best speakers. He was also instrumental in effecting
the transfer of the Senn medical library from the Newberry Library to the
John Crerar Library.
Besides being a member of many professional organizations, Dr. Doherty
was interested in the American Oriental Society, the American Anthro-
pological Association and the Modern Language Association.
He died in Chicago, October 27, 1908.
FREDERICK CHRISTIAN SCHAEFER
(1850-1904)
From typesetter to post graduate student in the hospitals of London,
Berlin and Vienna, Dr. Frederick Christian Schaefer played a distinguished
role as a teacher and practitioner in Chicago for many years.
He was born in Galena, Illinois, May 26, 1850. He attended the public
schools of Galena and for two years worked for the Galena Advertiser as a
typesetter. At the age of eighteen he started a job printing business in
Chicago, which he was compelled to abandon on account of ill health.
Removing to California, he became a teacher in Alameda County, and
began the study of medicine at the University of the Pacific. Returning to
Chicago in 1874, he entered the office of Dr. Ralph N. Isham. and attended
the Chicago Medical College, being graduated from that institution in 1876.
In 1882 he became professor of anatomy in Northwestern University Medical
School. In 1884 he was appointed gynecologist and advisory surgeon to
Cook County Hospital. In 1885 he became senior surgeon of the Illinois
Charitable Eye and Ear Infirmary. From 1890 to 1896 he was surgeon to
\Yesley Hospital. In the Woman's Medical College he filled the chair of
surgery for a number of years. He was also professor of surgery in the
Post Graduate Medical School and surgeon of the Post Graduate and Charity
Hospitals.
Other positions held by Dr. Schaefer were surgeon to the Chicago Hospital,
consulting surgeon to Mary Thompson Hospital, surgeon-in-chief of St.
Hedwig's Hospital and gynecologist to St. Elizabeth's Hospital.
148
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
(Photo by J. D. Toloff)
BYRON C. STOLP
MARIE JOSEPHA MERGLER
WALTER F. KNOLL
EDWARD HUTCHINS WEBSTER
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 149
Dr. Schaefer devoted much time to study in the hospitals of London, Berlin
and Vienna.
He died June 2, 1904.
BYRON C. STOLP
(1851-1917)
Dr. Byron C. Stolp, well known physician and useful citizen, was born in
Empire, Whiteside County, Illinois, January 27, 1851. His early years were
spent in farming and in the woolen business, his father owning a water-power
woolen mill on the Fox River.
Dr. Stolp was graduated from Bennett Medical College and began the
practice of medicine in Indiana, where he remained for fifteen months. On
June 25, 1874, he moved from Indiana to Wilmette, Illinois, where he prac-
ticed medicine until his death, November 2, 1917.
He was a member of the Chicago Medical Society, the Illinois State Medi-
cal Society, the American Medical Association and the Wilmette Physicians'
Club, of which he was at one time the president. He served for many years
as attending physician to the Evanston Hospital. He was active in many
civic organizations of Wilmette and served on the Wilmette board of edu-
cation for fourteen years. He was a member of the New Trier board of edu-
cation when the New Trier High School was built. One of the largest pub-
lic schools in Wilmette has been named in his honor. He was for many years
a trustee of the Methodist church of Wilmette.
He married Miss Cenie L. Graves, February 18, 1874. He was survived by
his widow and two sons, Dr. Rufus B. Stolp and Harold E. Stolp, who has
since died.
MARIE JOSEPHA MERGLER
(1851-1901)
One of three leading women doctors of her time in Chicago, Dr. Marie
Josepha Mergler was born in Mainstockheim, Bavaria, May 18, 1851. Her
father, Dr. Francis R. Mergler, was a graduate of the University of Wiirz-
burg and her mother was descended from an old German family of note, the
Von Rittershausens. She was the youngest of three children.
Her parents came to America when she was two years old and located in
Palatine, Illinois, where her father practiced medicine until his death. At
seventeen years of age she was graduated from Cook County Normal School
and one year later she entered the State Normal School at Oswego, New
York, being, graduated from the classical course in 1871.
After teaching in the Englewood High School in Chicago for four years,
she decided to study medicine and matriculated in the Woman's Medical
College of Chicago in 1876. She was graduated in 1879 and was valedictorian
of her class.
After graduation she competed successfully with men graduates for
appointment as interne at the Cook County Hospital at. Dunning, Illinois,
standing second in the competitive examination. She received the appoint-
ment, but was not allowed to fill the position because she was a woman.
Determined to obtain hospital experience, she went to Europe and studied for
one year in Zurich, Switzerland, paying particular attention to pathology
and clinical medicine.
Returning to Chicago, she began the practice of medicine in 1881.
made adjunct professor of gynecology to Dr. William H. Byford in t
150 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
Woman's Medical College, and upon his death in 1890 she became his suc-
cessor as professor of gynecology. She was secretary of the faculty until
1899, when she became dean. The college previously having become the
Northwestern University Woman's Medical School, she was appointed dean
by the trustees of the university.
In 1882 Dr. Mergler was appointed to the attending staff of Cook County
Hospital, being one of the first two women to receive such an appointment.
In 1886 she became one of the attending surgeons of the Woman's Hospital
and four years later gynecologist at Wesley Memorial Hospital. She held
both of these positions at the time of her death. In November, 1895, she was
elected head physician and surgeon at the Mary Thompson Hospital for
Women and Children. She was also professor of gynecology in the Post-
Graduate Medical School of Chicago.
She was a member of the American Medical Association and the Illinois
State Medical and Chicago Medical societies. She contributed papers to the
leading medical journals and also wrote a text-book on gynecology.
"Dr. Mergler was a skillful surgeon, a fine diagnostician and a most excel-
lent teacher," Dr. Annie White Sage writes. "Her influence among her
colleagues and the students was great. The alumnae drew upon her superior
skill and knowledge and she was most generous and helpful to the young
physicians."
Her life was strenuous and exhausting and brought on an untimely death,
May 18, 1901, on the fiftieth anniversary of her birth, in Los Angeles,
California.
WALTER F. KNOLL
(1851-1893)
Dr. Walter F. Knoll, sometime professor at the Chicago Homeopathic
Medical College, a surgeon and specialist in the treatment of diseases of
women, was born in Stephenson County, Illinois, August 24, 1851. He was
educated in the common schools, later receiving preparatory training at the
Freeport Academy and the Illinois State Normal School. His normal course
was equivalent to that which carries with it the degree of master of arts.
He entered the Chicago Homeopathic Medical College, class of 1877, grad-
uating two years afterward as valedictorian of his class. Two years later he
went to New York where he spent a year in the colleges and hospitals, giving
special attention to physical diagnosis, surgery and the diseases of women.
He first came to Chicago to make it his home and the field of his endeavor
in June, 1882. He was then appointed to the chair of physiology and histology
in the Chicago Homeopathic Medical College, which he occupied for five
years. In 1888 he went to Europe and devoted a year to perfecting himself
in surgery and in the treatment of diseases of women. Three years later he
made another scholastic pilgrimage to Vienna, Berlin, Paris and London.
From the chair of physiology and histology in the Chicago Homeopathic
Medical College he passed to the chair of pathology and minor surgery and
in 1890 he was promoted to the professorship of principles and practice of
surgery and clinical surgery in the same college.
He was at one time surgeon to Cook County Hospital and beginning in
1891 he lectured at the Illinois Training School for Nurses.
He was a member of the Academy of Medicine, the Illinois Homeopathic
Medical Association, the American Institute of Homeopathy and several state
and local societies.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 151
On October 5, 1879 he married Miss Flora Frey, who after his death be
came the wife of Dr. Samuel H. Aurand of Chicago.
Dr. Knoll died November 23, 1893.
EDWARD HUT CHINS WEBSTER
(1851-1916)
"Webster, the doctor, inherited Evanston from Dr. John Fvans! Evans
ton is Webster; Webster is Evanston! Webster made Evanston; Evanston
made Webster! Evanston is the synonym of culture; culture is a synonym
of Webster! Town and man are one. They have lived together for thirty-
five years. During that time Webster has passed upon the physical and
mental status of Evanston. By example, service and physic, he has developed
a people almost as good as himself. He is owner of Evanston, not by 'bossism'
but by parental right. Evanston owes Webster everything; she knows it
and loves him accordingly."
So said Dr. Frank Billings when, on January 3, 1912, a medical science
room at the Evanston Public Library was dedicated in honor of Dr. Edward
H. Webster, beloved citizen of the north shore suburb.
"He set broken bones," continued Dr. Billings, "healed broken hearts,
assisted at the birth of all the children born in Evanston in those days',
attended patients in epidemics of all sorts of fevers and inflammations, was
the surgeon of the railroad, attended to diseases of the eye, ear, throat and
skin and, in short, was a doctor worth while. Twenty-four years ago he
invited me to see an Evanstonian with him. In that day the trains to and
from Chicago were not frequent. A half day was occupied in the trip.
"The doctor met me at the station and we drove in a one horse buggy
to the home of the patient. He procured from his pocket a handful of keys,
selected one and unlocked the door. Without meeting any member of the
family he led the way up-stairs to the bedchamber where the patient, a man,
lay in bed attended by the wife as a nurse. The introduction was as follows,
'John, I don't know what is the matter with you and I have brought this
young fellow in to see if he knows as much or more than I do. Mary, this
is Dr. Billings.' After the examination, the opinion as to the nature of the
disease and treatment was discussed.
"Then Webster drove me about for an hour until train time as he made
calls upon an obstetrical case, a broken leg, a case of scarlet fever, a scalp
wound, a nervous patient, et cetera. In each instance he entered the house
with a pass key. In answer to my question he said, 'I haven't time to wait for
doors to be opened; with the keys I can save time and go in quickly night
and day.' In the years which followed, I found that he did go in night and
day, for, on many occasions, he was so busy that his household would not
see him for twenty-four hours. His patient became his friend at once, and
George, Helen, Kate and Henry from him and Ed or Dr. Ed from them made
common salutations."
That was Dr. Edward Hutchins Webster, prophet with honor in his own
community.
Dr. Webster was born at Wells River, Vt., November 17, 1851. The
family came to Illinois from Pembroke, N. H., when he was fifteen years
old and settled in Evanston. He was graduated from Northwestern Uni-
versity in 1874, receiving from that institution later the degree of master
of arts. In 1877 he was graduated from the Chicago Medical College. After
serving for some time as surgeon of the Chicago and Northwestern Rail-
152
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
ROSWELL PARK
(Photo by Moffett)
LEONARD ST. JOHN
ELBERT WING
HENRY B. STEHMAN
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 153
road, he entered upon general practice in Evanston. In this he continued
until his death.
Dr. Webster took part in the establishment of Evanston Hospital and,
from its organization, gave it hearty support. For a long time he was dean
of the medical staff and during the last four years of his life he was dean
emeritus.
Dr. Webster's death, January 23, 1916, was universally mourned in the
community where for nearly forty years he had been a zealous practitioner
and public spirited citizen.
ROSWELL PARK
(1852-1914)
Although better known as one of the leading surgeons and teachers of the
east, Dr. Roswell Park in his early life was closely identified with Chicago.
During his few years here he made a lasting impression upon his colleagues,
and after his departure many efforts were made to have him return as a
teacher.
He was born in Pomfret, Connecticut, May 4, 1852, and was descended
from an old English and New England family, Sir Robert Park having come
to Massachusetts in 1630 from Preston, England, later moving to Connecticut.
Roswell Park went to school in Connecticut and later to the Racine (Wis-
consin) grammar school and Immanuel Hall in Chicago. He was graduated
from Racine College, of which his father was president, receiving the degree
of A. B. in 1872 and that of A. M. in 1875.
After his graduation he taught for one year in Immanuel Hall and then
entered the medical department of Northwestern University, from which he
received his medical degree in 1876. He then served as interne in Cook
County Hospital.
His medical teaching was begun in 1879 as demonstrator of anatomy in the
Woman's Medical College of Chicago. In 1880 he was appointed adjunct
professor of anatomy in Northwestern University, resigning three years
later to study in Europe. While abroad he was made lecturer on surgery
in Rush Medical College and attending surgeon at Michael Reese Hospital.
He did not fill these positions, however, accepting instead the positions of
professor of surgery in the University of Buffalo and surgeon to the Buffalo
General Hospital. He filled these positions until his death.
He was president of the New York State Medical Society and of the
American Surgical Association. In 1895 Harvard University gave him the
degree of A. M. and in 1902 Yale University conferred on him the degree
of LL.D.
In 1892 he gave the Mutter Lectures on surgical pathology in Philadelphia.
He wrote a monograph on surgery of the head and brain and a text-book on
the history of medicine. He was editor of and principal contributor to the
"Text-Book on Surgery by American Authors" in 1896 and was author of a
text-book on general surgery. He published a number of articles related to
the history of medicine, and in 1899 published a book entitled "An Epitome
of the History of Medicine."
In 1880 he married Miss Martha P. Durkee. There were two sons who
survived him. He died February 15, 1914, after a very short illness.
154 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
LEONARD ST. JOHN
(1852-1920)
Dr. Leonard St. John, one of the founders of the College of Physicians
and Surgeons of Chicago, was born at St. Catherine's, Ontario, Canada,
September 28, 1852. He was the son of Samuel L. and Martha Seaman
St. John.
He was educated in the public schools of his native place and in 1872
received his medical degree from McGill University in Montreal. Follow-
ing this, he spejit eighteen months in London hospitals, and while there
passed examinations for ^membership in the Royal College of Surgeons.
Returning from London, he practiced for about two years in New York
City, and came to Chicago in 1876. With the founding of the College of
Physicians and Surgeons in 1882, Dr. St. John became treasurer of the
corporation and professor of minor surgery. He held these positions for
several years.
He was also surgeon to Cook County and St. Anthony de Padua hos-
pitals. He was a member of the American Medical Association and the
Chicago Medical and Illinois State Medical societies.
In 1878 he married Miss Anna Balch of New York City, who died in
1893. Dr. St. John died April 2, 1920.
ELBERT WING
(1852-1916)
With post graduate experience in Berlin, Vienna and Paris, Dr. Elbert
Wing began practice in Chicago in November, 1885.
He was born in Collinsville, Illinois, October 3, 1852. A public school edu-
cation was followed by graduation from Illinois College at Jacksonville in
1875, when he received the degree of Master of Arts. His medical preceptors
were Doctors H. K. and C. G. Jones of Jacksonville, Illinois, and Dr. Hosmer
A. Johnson of Chicago. He was graduated from Northwestern University
Medical School in 1882 and served a year and a half as interne at Cook
County Hospital before going abroad, where he devoted a year to study in
Berlin, Paris and Vienna.
He then began practice in Chicago, where he rapidly assumed prominence
as practitioner and teacher. He was professor of neurology in Northwestern
University Medical School and pathologist on the medical staff of Cook
County Hospital until 1890. The following two years he did special work at
Johns Hopkins University.
In the fall of 1892 he joined his younger brother, Dr. Horace B. Wing, in
Los Angeles, where for fourteen years he was one of the consulting physicans
of the Southern California Hospital Association. He was active in civic and
welfare work and, at the time of his death, was president of the Los Angeles
Municipal League, a member of the Municipal Housing Committee, a mem-
ber of the Los Angeles Branch of the National Social Hygiene Society and
president of the Morals Efficiency Committee of the City Club.
Dr. Wing married Miss Charlotte J. Halliday of Cairo, Illinois, in 1898. He
died in Los Angeles, May 8, 1916.
HENRY B. STEHMAN
(1852-1918)
For fifteen years superintendent of the Presbyterian Hospital and, later,
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 155
on the Pacific coast, a leader in philanthropic work, Dr. Henry B. Stehman
died acclaimed as one of Pasadena's most useful citizens.
Dr. Stehman was born in 1852. He was graduated from Lebanon Valley
College in 1873. After attending the Universities of Leipzig and Brussels
from 1873 to 1875, he matriculated at Jefferson Medical College and was
graduated from that institution in 1877. He served his interneship at Block-
ley Hospital.
From 1884 to 1899 he was superintendent of the Presbyterian Hospital in
Chicago. Through him the hospital received many endowments for beds,
rooms and wards. For eleven years he was a teacher in Rush Medical Col-
lege, ending the period as assistant professor of gynecology.
On account of ill health, Dr. Stehman moved to Pasadena in 1900, and
despite his physical suffering, became active in the affairs of that city. He
had a genius for organization which found fruit in two hospitals, in a great
church building and finally in a monument to his zeal for service, La Vina, a
sanitarium for the tuberculous. He designed the interiors of the numerous
buildings of the Pasadena Hospital and assisted in their construction. He
secured large gifts for this institution.
"La Vina Sanitarium was Dr. Stehman's greatest work," says Dr. Norman
Bridge in one of his writings. "On a farm near Pasadena have arisen some
eighteen buildings for 100 patients. The farm and buildings were the willing
gifts of those who believed in the work and in him. It was his ambition to
have a haven for at least a few of the many consumptives who walk the
streets as long as they can and walk in loneliness. And this he nobly did. For
ten years, amid an exacting practice, he gave himself to this service as a labor
of love, refusing all material rewards — even declining gifts for his personal
comfort."
On April 25, 1881, Dr. Stehman married Miss Elizabeth M. Miller. There
were four children, Elizabeth M., John M., Genevieve and Henry M. Steh-
man, the last named dying in 1917.
Overwork by Dr. Stehman in the selective draft of 1917 caused a break-
down, which brought a recurrence of tuberculosis. He died February 27,
1918.
ALEXANDER HUGH FERGUSON
(1853-1911)
Honor graduate of Trinity University of Toronto, founder of Manitoba
Medical College, recipient from the King of Portugal of the Order of
Christ. These were some of the distinctions that belonged to Dr. Alex-
ander Hugh Ferguson, who was president of the Chicago Medical Society,
1910-11.
Dr. Ferguson was born in Ontario, Canada, February 27, 1853, and died
in Chicago, October 20, 1911.
After graduating from the medical department of Trinity University in
1881, he did post-graduate work in American, British and German hospitals
and in 1889 was a student under Professor Koch in Berlin.
He married Miss Sarah Jane Thomas of Nassagaweya, Ontario, April 7,
1882. Entering upon the practice of medicine in 1882, he founded during
his residence there the Manitoba Medical College, in which for three years
he occupied the chair of physiology and histology, and for eight years that
of surgery.
156 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
ALEXANDER HUGH FERGUSON
FRANK E. WAXHAM
ARTHUR B. HOSMER
JAMES HERBERT STOWELL
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 157
Upon his removal to Chicago in 1894, Dr. Ferguson was chosen professor
of surgery in the College of Physicians and Surgeons and incumbent of the
same position in the Chicago Post-Graduate Medical School and Hospital.
He also became surgeon-in-chief to the Chicago Hospital and surgeon to
the Cook County Hospital for the Insane.
Dr. Ferguson was a member of the British Medical Association and was
an organizer and first president of the Manitoba branch. He was a member
also of the International Surgical Association, the American Medical Asso-
ciation, the Illinois State and the Chicago Medical societies; the Chicago
Gynecological Society, the Chicago Surgical Society, the American Surgical
Association, the Chicago Academy of Medicine, the American Association
of Obstetricians and the Gynecologists, the Southern Surgical and Gyne-
cological Association, the Western Surgical and Gynecological Association
and the Royal Geographical Society. He was an honorary member of the
Michigan Medical Association.
Dr. Ferguson had a large experience with hyatid cysts. An interesting
paper on hyatids of the liver appeared in the Northwest Lancet, St. Paul,
in 1893. He wrote more than one hundred articles, covering a wide range
of surgical topics. He did many goitre operations, wrote on vesice-vaginal
fistula, and was much interested in cleft palate.
He received from the King of Portugal the decoration of Commander of
the Order of Christ of Portugal.
FRANK E. WAXHAM
(1853-1911)
Member of the first faculty of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of
Chicago and twice delegate of the American Medical Association to the
International Medical Congress, Dr. Frank E. Waxham was active for many
years in Chicago as a teacher and practitioner.
He was born near LaPorte, Indiana, in 1853. Later, after his family had
moved to a farm near Rockford, Illinois, he was graduated from the Rockford
High School. He studied medicine with Dr. Lucius Clark of Rockford and
was graduated from the Chicago Medical College in 1878. After a term as
house physician at Mercy Hospital, Dr. Waxham joined the first faculty of
the College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1882 as professor of diseases of
children, a position which he occupied until 1888, when he was elected to the
chair of otology, laryngology and rhinology. The latter subjects were covered
by him also as a professor at the Chicago Ophthalmic College and the Post
Graduate Medical School.
In 1885 he introduced in Chicago and began the development of the opera-
tion of intubation which he successfully performed many times. Papers on
the theme were read by Dr. Waxham when he was a delegate of the American
Medical Association to the International Medical College in Washington in
1887 and in Glasgow in 1888.
After his return from Europe he restricted his practice to the treatment of
diseases of the throat and nose.
He was a member of the American Medical Association, the Illinois State
and Chicago Medical societies, and chief surgeon of the throat and nose
department of the West Side Free Dispensary. Upon his removal to Denver
in 1893, for the sake of his wife's health, Dr. Waxham was made a member of
the faculty of Gross Medical College. In 1895 he was elected professor of
laryngology, rhinology and clinical medicine in the University of Colorado,
158
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
FRED BYRON ROBINSON
HENRY CRADLE
(Photo by Wallnger)
FRANK SEWARD JOHNSON
BOERNE BETTMAN
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 159
in which position he continued until his death at Sugar City, Colorado, Sep-
tember 4, 1911.
ARTHUR B. HOSMER
(1854-1906)
Founder and president of the Chicago Orthopedic Society, Dr. Arthur B.
Hosmer was one of the leading surgeons of the community.
He was born in Chicago, February 25, 1854, and received his. academic
education in Chicago and Europe. He devoted three years to study of lan-
guages and literature in Wurttemburg and Dresden. He was graduated from
the Chicago Medical College in 1875, and the following year he studied under
Professor Alfred L. Loomis of New York. Engaging in practice in Chicago,
Dr. Hosmer married Miss Adele Burwell in 1880. Accompanied by his wife,
he proceeded to Vienna, wrhere he spent seven months in the study of
orthopedic surgery.
He was one of the founders of the Chicago Orthopedic Society and was
one of its presidents. For years he was chief orthopedic surgeon of St. Luke's
Hospital, professor of orthopedic surgery at the Chicago Policlinic and
Hospital and physician and surgeon at the Home for Destitute Crippled
Children.
Dr, Hosmer was surgeon of the First Cavalry, I. N. G., which, in the World
war, became the 122nd Field Artillery. He was a frequent contributor to
medical journals and, at the time of his death, was translating from the
German a text book on surgery. He was of athletic physique, and was an
ardent golf player, being a member of the Chicago Golf Club at Wheaton.
He died May 5, 1906, of pneumonia.
JAMES HERBERT STOWELL
(1854-1919)
President of the Chicago Medical Society in 1900, Dr. James Herbert
Stowell was a practitioner in Chicago for nearly forty years.
He was born at Delavan, Wisconsin, April 29, 1854. After being graduated
from Beloit College he entered the Chicago Medical College and was gradu-
ated from that institution in 1881. He then began practice in Chicago. He
became medical examiner of the National Life Insurance Company of
America and also of the United States Annuity and Life Insurance Company.
He was a member of the American Medical Association, the Illinois State and
Chicago Medical Societies.
He was also a member of the Chicago Society of Internal Medicine, the
Mississippi Valley Medical Society, the Chicago Society of Medical History,
the Medical Examiner's Society, the Wisconsin Society and the -Chicago
Congregational Club.
On June 16, 1880, Dr. Stowell married Miss Frances Evelyn Beckett of
Aurora, Illinois. She died in 1897, leaving five children. Dr. Stowell died
May 31, 1919.
FRED BYRON ROBINSON
(1855-1910)
From a log cabin school in Wisconsin to the universities and hospitals
of Heidelberg, Vienna, Berlin and London, encompassed the preliminary
training of Dr. Fred Byron Robinson, gynecologist and abdominal surgeon.
Born on a farm near Hollendale in central Wisconsin, April 11, 1855, the
160 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
future surgeon, familiarly known in later years as Byron Robinson, lived
the life of a son of a small farmer and attended a log school house until he
went to the Mineral Point Seminary, through which he worked his way. He
next entered the University of Wisconsin, from which he was graduated
with the degree of B. S. in 1878.
In the fall of 1878, he began work as a teacher in the high school at Ash-
land, Wisconsin, this being followed by teaching service at Black Earth,
Wisconsin. During this period he took up the study of medicine under
Dr. U. P. Stair, as preceptor. In 1882 he obtained his medical degree from
Rush Medical College and immediately began practice at Grand Rapids, Wis-
consin, his slender resources making impossible a hospital internship.
For three years, beginning in 1884, he studied at Heidelberg, Berlin and
London, this preparation being followed by a course in gynecology in Vienna
in 1887. The following year he was professor of anatomy and clinical sur-
gery in the Toledo (Ohio) Medical College. In 1890 he studied abdominal
surgery under Professor Lawson Tait in Birmingham, England.
Thus equipped, Dr. Robinson began the practice of gynecology and abdomi-
nal surgery in Chicago in 1891. In that year he became professor of gyne-
cology in the Post-Graduate Medical School of Chicago, later becoming asso-
ciated with the Illinois Medical College as professor of gynecology and
abdominal surgery. For many years he was on the staffs of the Woman's
Hospital of Chicago and the Mary Thompson Hospital for Women and
Children. He was also surgeon to the Frances E. Willard Hospital.
Dr. Robinson was a voluminous writer on medical and surgical subjects,
his best known and most important works perhaps being, "The Arteries of
the Gastro-Intestinal Tract, with Inosculation Circle," "Landmarks of Gyne-
cology" and "The Peritoneum."
Of Dr. Robinson's work, Dr. Nicholas Senn said : "Dr. Robinson's addi-
tions to .our knowledge of the structures of the biliary and pancreatic ducts,
the ureto-ovarian circle (Robinson's circle), the ureters (Robinson's three
uretral isthmuses), the great sympathetic nerve (the abdominal brain), and
the peritoneum are of far-reaching and scientific value. In the last edition
of Da Costa's 'Gray's Anatomy,' Dr. Robinson's name appears no less than
forty times."
"Dr. Robinson was one of the most diligent men that I have ever known,"
Dr. William A. Evans has written. "Up to the very end of his life he dis-
sected, did operative work on the cadaver and attended and made autopsies.
He never permitted his office and operative work to take all of his time and
energy, but, having set aside a part of his time for dead-house and dissect-
ing-room work, he adhered to his schedule."
In 1894, Dr. Robinson married Dr. Lucy Waite, then head surgeon of the
Mary Thompson Hospital. She survived him upon his death, March 23, 1910.
HENRY GRADLE
(1855-1911)
First exponent in Chicago of the germ theory of disease and one of the
earliest in America to propound this concept, Dr. Henry Gradle was a
disciple of Koch. He was one of the leading ophthalmologists and otologists
in the west.
Dr. Gradle was born in Frankfort-on-Main, Germany, August 17, 1855.
He came to this country when but ten years old. He received his grade and
preparatory school education in Chicago. Entering the Chicago Medical
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 161
College he was graduated in medicine in 1874 and then served one year's
interneship at Mercy Hospital. He then went abroad, where he devoted three
years to studying in Vienna, Berlin, Leipzig, Heidelberg, Paris and London.
Part of this time was spent with Koch, part with Ludwig and the remainder
in the ophthalmological clinics.
Thoroughly imbued with the teachings of Koch, Dr. Cradle brought to
Chicago the first concepts of the bacterial origin of human disease and one
of the first addresses he delivered was on "The Germ Theory of Disease."
This was later expanded into a series of lectures that were delivered at his
old college and published in pamphlet form.
From 1881 to 1885 Dr. Cradle taught physiology and hygiene at the Chi-
cago Medical College and abandoned this favorite branch only upon limiting
his practice exclusively to the eye, ear, nose and throat. From 1895 to 1906
he was professor of ophthalmology and otology in the same institution. He
was the author of numerous articles dealing with his specialty and one three
volume text book on Diseases of the Nose, Pharynx and Ear. This attained
universal recognition and was even translated into Japanese.
Dr. Cradle was a member of the Chicago Medical Society, the American
Medical Association, the Chicago Ophthalmological Society, the Illuminating
Engineering Society and numerous other special societies. On August 31,
1881, he married Miss Fanny Searls. They had two children, Harry S., who
succeeded to his father's practice, and a younger son, Roy, a manufacturer
now residing in Los Angeles.
In stature Dr. Cradle was short, standing only five feet one inch, but that
physical handicap was forgotten the moment he started to speak. One of
his intimate friends, Dr. G. Frank Lydston, nicknamed him "The Little
Giant" and this was practically the only reference to his height that did not
cause him mental discomfort.
Dr. Cradle's manner was always kindly and courteous although, at times,
the press of patients made him somewhat gruff. He was an excellent linguist,
speaking and writing faultless German and English. He also had a working
knowledge of Latin, French and Italian. Anything partaking of scientific
endeavor immediately caught his interest and he was not content until he
had mastered the theories of it. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of the
literature of his specialty and a fairly intimate acquaintance with the litera-
ture of medicine in general. An article once grasped was never forgotten.
Dr. Cradle died at Santa Barbara, California, April 4, 1911.
FRANK SEWARD JOHNSON
(1856-1922)
Dr. Frank Seward Johnson, practitioner and teacher of medicine, was one
of Chicago's intellectually stalwart men. He was the son of Dr. Hosmer
Allen Johnson, whom he resembled both physically and mentally.
The son was born April 18, 1856, in Chicago. His preliminary education
was acquired in a private school, with one year's study in Stuttgart, Ger-
many. He prepared for college in Professor Henry H. Babcock's Chicago
Academy and entered Northwestern University in 1874, receiving the degree
of A. B. in 1878. Three years later he was awarded his master's degree by
the university and in the same year he earned his medical degree from Chi-
cago Medical College, the medical department of the university.
A year in the University of Vienna and in the hospitals of that city and
162 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
another as interne at Cook County Hospital preceded his entry upon the
practice of his profession in Chicago. From boyhood he had been trained by
his father in the use of instruments of precision, especially the microscope,
and in chemical laboratory work, so that his skill with these means of diag-
nosis soon brought him into prominence with physicians and laymen.
In 1883 he was appointed demonstrator of histology in Chicago Medical
College and the next year was made professor of that subject. Unfortunately
his work was interrupted by repeated attacks of appendicitis, which forced
him to desist from teaching for several years. Upon his recovery he accepted
the appointment of professor of medicine in Chicago Medical College and
later he was made dean of the faculty. About this time the Chicago Medical
College completed the union with the university and became the Northwest-
ern University Medical School. In 1910 he was elected emeritus dean and
professor of medicine and clinical medicine in the Northwestern University
Medical School, the highest honor in the power of the school to bestow.
Dr. Johnson was consulting physician to Michael Reese, Mercy and the
Woman's hospitals. He was a member of the American Medical Association,
the Illinois State and Chicago Medical Societies, the Institute of Medicine of
Chicago, the American Climatological Association, the American Association
for the Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis, the Chicago Academy of Sci-
ences, the Physicians' Club of Chicago, the Cliff Dwellers and the Chicago
Literary and University Clubs. In February, 1911, he was appointed First
Lieutenant in the Medical Reserve Corps. He was also a director of the John
Crerar Library.
On September 30, 1890, he married Miss Elizabeth Burbank Ayer, daugh-
ter of Mr. and Mrs. Edward E. Ayer of Chicago. There are two sons,
Hosmer Allen Johnson, a California architect, and Edward Ayer Johnson.
In 1917 Dr. and Mrs. Johnson removed to Pasadena, California, where
among old friends they established a new home. He died there April 23,
1922.
Dr. Frank T. Andrews writes concerning him :
"Dr. Johnson was a man of rare good judgment with the ability to marshal
his facts and to express his ideas and opinions in perfect order and with
telling effect. His mind was of the judicial type. He was alert to detect
deceit and quick to resent any compromise with evil and error. He was a
profound student, precise, painstaking and accurate."
BOERNE BETTMAN
(1856-1906)
With exceptional equipment Dr. Boerne Bettman entered upon the practice
of ophthalmology in Chicago.
Born in Cincinnati September 6, 1856, Dr. Bettman was the son of a
graduate of the medical department of the University of Munich. Under the
preceptorship of his father, in the Miami Medical College, Dr. Bettman
pursued a three-year course and received his degree in 1877. For a short time
thereafter, he was assistant to Dr. Elkanah Williams, the first professor of
ophthalmology in the United States.
Proceeding to New York he studied for a time in the laboratory of Dr.
Heitzman and then, for a year and a half, was assistant to Dr. Herman
Knapp. For the next three years he studied in Europe. In Vienna his
teachers were Arlt, Stelhveg, Yaeger, Mauthner, Fuchs. Politzer, Gruber,
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 163
and Storch. At Heidelberg in 1879 he became the second assistant to Dr.
Otto Becker. Later he was made Becker's first assistant.
Dr. Bettman opened an office in Chicago in November, 1881, as specialist
in diseases of the eye and ear. For a number of years he was surgeon-in-
chief of the Illinois Charitable Eye and Ear Infirmary. He was the founder
of the organization which is now the Chicago Ophthalmological Society.
On April 4, 1888, Dr. Bettman married Miss Clara Snydacker. There were
two children, Ralph Boerne Bettman, who became a physician in Chicago,
and a daughter, now Mrs. John Frank.
Dr. Bettman was the first lecturer on ophthalmology and otology in the
College of Physicians and Surgeons and was later professor of those branches
in that institution. He was professor of ophthalmology and vice-president
and treasurer of the Post Graduate Medical School ; oculist and aurist to
Michael Reese, Cook County and the German hospitals. He was a member
of the American, the Illinois State and Chicago Medical societies and the
Tri-State and Microscopical societies. Dr. Bettman was president of the
State Board of Public Charities and Assistant Surgeon, Second Regiment,
Illinois National Guard.
He died May 25, 1906.
GEORGE FRANCIS SHEARS
(1856-1909)
For more than twenty-five years connected with Hahnemann Medical Col-
lege of Chicago as lecturer, professor, secretary and president, Dr. George
Francis Shears was perhaps second in importance to Dr. Reuben Ludlam
among homeopathic teachers and practitioners of his time in Chicago.
Dr. Shears was born in Aurora, Illinois, September 16, 1856, the son of
Joseph and Mary A. Reynolds Shears. He attended the grammar and high
schools of Aurora, was graduated from the Aurora Normal School in 1874,
and a year later began the teaching career that was to last almost uninter-
ruptedly until his death.
When nineteen years old he was principal of the Young school in Aurora
and had under his direction twelve teachers and six hundred pupils. He held
this position for four years.
Entering Hahnemann Medical College of Chicago, he was graduated in
1880 and obtained, through competitive examination, the position of house
surgeon in Hahnemann Hospital. The following year he entered general
practice and was appointed lecturer in his alma mater. In 1883 he became
associated with the late Dr. George A. Hall and was appointed lecturer in
surgery in Hahnemann.
In 1883 he was elected superintendent of Hahnemann Hospital, becoming
at once an important factor in its upbuilding. In 1885 he became adjunct
professor of surgery in Hahnemann Medical College, in 1887 associate pro-
fessor of surgery and in 1889 senior professor of surgery upon the retirement
of Dr. George A. Hall.
He was elected a member of the board of trustees of the college in 1893,
serving as secretary, and in 1900 president of the college upon the retirement
of Dr. Charles H. Vilas. He held this position until his death. It was said
that during all his years of service to the college Dr. Shears never missed
the opening exercises or failed to be present on commencement day.
He was surgeon to the Chicago Baptist Hospital and the Silver Cross
164
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
GEORGE FRANCIS SHEARS
(Photo by Matzene)
GEORGE FRANK BUTLER
WILLIAM WRIGHT JAGGARD
(Photo by Matzene)
JOHN BENJAMIN MURPHY
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 165
Hospital in Joliet, and was on the staff of Cook County Hospital. For many
years he was associate editor of "Clinique." He contributed a chapter on
malignant tumors to the "System of Medicine" and chapters on hernia and
diseases of the breast to the "Homeopathic Text Book of Surgery."
In 1884 he married Miss Jessie E. Hunter, who had already been graduated
in medicine.
He died August 22, 1909.
"In Hahnemann Medical College and in its splendid work the world will
always see the greatest monument to Doctor Shears, the medical educator,"
Dr. Burton Haseltine has written. "But to those who knew him intimately
his finest monument is the inspiration of his personal life.
"The greatest teacher is he who instructs by a noble example. He taught
by his example that high ethical ideals are not inimical to material success.
He taught that intense professional activity does not prohibit intellectual
and artistic refinement. He taught the charm of constant communion with
the world's master minds. He taught the lesson of sympathy with the poor
and the unfortunate, and taught the lesson of calmness, courage and self-
forgetfulness in the greatest trial that a man can face."
GEORGE FRANK BUTLER
(1857-1921)
Practitioner and poet, Dr. George F. Butler held a philosophy articulated
in the subjoined verse which is quoted at length because in large measure it
formulates the creed of more than one unselfish and devoted physician :
MY SUCCESS
I've missed the wage for which the rich aspire,
And the world's plaudits. But tho' I've missed
What most men covet, I've reached a higher
Goal than wealth and fame, for my lips are kissed
By loved ones, and I've felt the poet's thirst
And have drunk deeply from the Muse's spring,
Which of all generous gifts of gods is first
And best, the one most gracious offering.
And I have, too, the love, and thanks, and prayers
Of those I've helped in sickness and in stress.
Then why repine and let a doubt prevail?
Has not God's kind hand led me unawares
Unto these lovely heights? I cannot fail,
When loved and loving, of a rich success!
George F. Butler was born at Moravia, N. Y., on March 15, 1857. He was
of Quaker stock, the only child of Asenath Chase and Isaac Butler. In
1874 he was graduated from Baldwins' Academy at Groton, N. Y., after which
he went to Pittsfield, Mass., spending four years there as a pharmacist.
Because of ill health he went in 1878 to southwestern Kansas where he
spent eight years on a sheep ranch and in the drug business. Afterward he
entered Rush Medical College, graduating in 1889 as valedictorian of his
class. For twenty-eight years he was professor of materia medica, thera-
peutics and clinical medicine, teaching in various Chicago medical colleges.
In 1908 Valparaiso University, Indiana, conferred upon him the honorary
degree of Master of Arts.
Institutional work probably appealed to him largely because it gave him
166 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
greater opportunity to cultivate his literary talents. For about twenty years
he served as medical superintendent in institutions. These included Alma
Sanitarium, Mudlavia Springs Sanitarium and, during the last three years
of his life, the North Shore Health Resort at Winnetka, Illinois.
His literary productions covered a wide range. He wrote several medical
works, of which a text book on Materia Medica and Therapeutics is best
known. Aside from medical productions, he wrote numerous poems which
were collected in "Love and Its Affinities," "The Isle of Content," "Sonnets
of the Heart" and "Echoes of Petrarch." "The Exploits of a Physician
Detective" were clever detective stories.
His last production was "How the Mind Cures," which he designed
especially for the laity, hoping to diffuse scientific views at a time when
"mind cures" were so popular among many people.
Dr. Butler was a member of many medical societies and literary clubs,
among which were the American Medical Association, the Chicago Academy
of Medicine, Press Club, Cliff Dwellers, Society of Midland Authors and
White Paper Club.
In 1881 Dr. Butler married Miss Nancy Porter, daughter of Judge John
Porter of Monmouth, Illinois. In June, 1921, he attended the convention of
the American Medical Association in Boston. He died on a train while
returning to Chicago, June 22, 1921.
WILLIAM WRIGHT JAGGARD
(1857-1896)
Authority on obstetrics, Dr. William Wright Jaggard, was a distinguished
teacher in the medical department of Northwestern University.
Dr. Jaggard was born at Altoona, Pa., May 26, 1857. He was graduated
with high honors from Dickinson College and, in 1880, from the medical de-
partment of the University of Pennsylvania. After a term as resident phy-
sician in the University Hospital, he devoted two years to professional study
in Vienna, where he was resident physician in La Charite Hospital.
Thereafter, he began practice in Chicago. He was elected professor of
obstetrics in the medical department of Northwestern University, where
he achieved success as a teacher. In 1891 he married Miss Elizabeth New-
berry, daughter of Professor Newberry of Columbia University. She died
in Chicago in 1894. Dr. Jaggard proceeded to Europe and undertook a course
of study in Berlin.
Shortly after his return he died at Philadelphia, January 30, 1896.
He was a prolific writer on obstetrics. His last contribution to medical
literature appeared in the American Text Book of Obstetrics.
JOHN BENJAMIN MURPHY
(1857-1916)
"In reviewing Dr. Murphy's manifold activities and attempting to deter-
mine the greatest of his many great qualities, I think we may place first his
ability as a teacher of clinical surgery and sum up by saying that in this
respect he was without a peer. In his talented and discriminating writing
we find evidence of his teaching on every hand. Dr. Murphy was the sur-
gical genius of our generation." (William J. Mayo, M. D.)
This was written of the man whose formula was, "Competency is attained
and maintained only by zeal, indefatigable labor and continued efforts in self-
education."
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 167
John Benjamin Murphy was born at Appleton, Wisconsin, December 21,
1857, the son of Michael and Ann Grimes Murphy. He was graduated from
the Appleton High School and studied medicine under the preceptorship of
Dr. John R. Reilly of Appleton.
In 1879 Dr. Murphy received his medical degree from Rush Medical
College and, after serving a year as interne at Cook County Hospital, he de-
voted nearly two years to post-graduate work in the hospitals of Vienna,
Berlin, Heidelberg, Munich and London. Returning to Chicago, he became
associated with Dr. Edward W. Lee, a distinguished practitioner on the
west side. From 1889 to 1893 he was a lecturer on surgery at Rush Medical
College.
In 1892 Dr. Murphy became professor of clinical surgery in the College of
Physicians and Surgeons of Chicago and thus served until 1901. From 1901
to 1905 he was professor of surgery in the Northwestern University Medical
School and from 1905 to 1908 he occupied the same chair in Rush Medical
College. Again he was professor of surgery at Northwestern from 1908 to
1916. For many years also he was professor of surgery in the Post-Graduate
Medical School of Chicago and the Chicago Clinical School.
From March 21, 1895, until his death he was chief surgeon at Mercy Hos-
pital. He was also for many years attending surgeon at Cook County Hos-
pital and the Alexian Brothers and West Side hospitals and consultant at
St. Joseph's Hospital and the Home for Destitute Crippled Children.
"Dr. Murphy was a man of extraordinary energy and great scientific
imagination," writes Dr. Mayo. "Traditional medicine had little interest for
him, but the newer knowledge that came from the bacterial origin of disease
furnished a fruitful field for his talents. His earliest interest was in ab-
dominal surgery, then in its infancy. The Murphy button, the greatest
mechanical aid in surgery, is an evidence of his inventive ingenuity and laid
the foundation for the gastro-intestinal surgery of today.
"Murphy was among the first to investigate the cause and treatment of
peritonitis following appendicitis, the causes and various forms of ileus, and
the pathologic processes in the pelvis, gall-bladder, stomach, pancreas and
kidneys. Each subject he investigated he left on a higher plane before enter-
ing a new field.
"His writings on the principles underlying surgery of the lung and nervous
system have been among the most important contributions on the subject.
In recent years he was deeply interested in the subject of deformities, espe-
cially those due to infection of the bones and joints, and the results of his
investigations were of high order.
"He was a dramatic figure in the operating room. With instrument in
hand he fairly thrilled his audience, as he reviewed the history of the case,
exhibited a specimen and proved the minute accuracy of his diagnosis."
In a recent address before the students of Northwestern University
Medical School, Dr. F. Robert Zeit pointed to the following as Dr. Murphy's
principal contributions to surgical science:
1892— Cholecysto-intestinal, gastro-intestinal and entero-intestinal anasto-
moses without sutures by means of the Murphy button.
1897 — Sutures of arteries and veins.
1898— Surgery of lung, nitrogen gas artificial pneumo-thorax.
1907- -Surgery of spinal cord.
168
1912 — His most important work: arthro-plasty, surgery of bones, joints
and tendons.
1916 — Murphy clinics published with operations and lectures.
Of Dr. Murphy, Dr. George W. Crile has said: "The place of American
surgery abroad is due more to the brilliant discoveries of Murphy and their
forceful presentation than to the work of any other American ; and he taught
the world what it knows about abdominal surgery and the surgery of tu-
berculosis, the blood vessels, and bones and joints."
To this is added the tribute of La Place, the noted French surgeon:
"Murphy died at the pinnacle of American surgery and has found a niche
among the great surgeons of all times."
Among Dr. Murphy's published writings were "Actinomycosis Hominis"
(he was the first surgeon in America to recognize the disease), "Gun-
shot Wounds of the Abdomen," "Early Operation in Perityphlitis," "Early
Operation in Appendicitis," "Original Experimental Researches in the Sur-
gery of the Gall Bladder and Intestinal Tract" (illustrating the application
of his anastomosis button), "Ileus, Its Diagnosis and Treatment," and "The
Year-Book of Surgery."
He was a member of the American Medical Association, the Illinois
State and Chicago Medical Societies, the American Association of Ob-
stetricians and Gynecologists, a fellow of the American Surgical Asso-
ciation, a member of the Southern Surgical and Gynecological Association,
and the Western Surgical Association, a member of the Deutsche Gesell-
schaft fur Chirurgie, an honorary member of the Societie de Chirurgie and
a member of many other scientific bodies.
He was president of the Chicago Medical Society, 1904-05 ; president
of the American Medical Association, 1911-12; and president of the Clinical
Congress of Surgeons of North America (now the Clinical Congress of the
American College of Surgeons), 1914-15. He was one of the founders and
most earnest supporters of the American College of Surgeons and was a
member of the board of regents from its organization in 1913 until his
death.
In recognition of his work he was awarded the Laetare medal by Notre
Dame University in 1902. He also received the following degrees and
titles :
A. M., St. Ignatius College; LL. D., University of Illinois; LL. D.,
Catholic University of America; D. Sc., University of Sheffield, England;
and Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons. In 1916 the
Pope made him Knight Commander of the Order of Saint Gregory the
Great.
On November 25, 1885, Dr. Murphy married Miss Jeanette C. Plamondon
of Chicago, who, with three daughters, survive him. They are Mrs. Cecile
N. Benedict, Mrs. Mildred L. Hurley and Mrs. Celeste Murdock. Mrs.
Murphy died July 12, 1921.
For several months prior to his death at Mackinac Island, Michigan,
August 11, 1916, Dr. Murphy had been in poor health. The cause of death,
as disclosed by the autopsy, was aortitis with sclerosis of the coronary
artery.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 169
NATHAN SMITH DAVIS, II
(1858-1920)
Distinguished son of a distinguished father, Dr. Nathan Smith Davis, II,
was born in Chicago, September 5, 1858.
After a preliminary education in private schools, he was graduated with
the degree of A. B. from Northwestern University in 1880, receiving an
A. M. degree from the same institution in 1883. In the latter year he also
received his physician's diploma from the Chicago Medical College, the
medical department of the university.
Dr. Davis pursued a post-graduate course at Heidelberg and Vienna and,
upon his return, was appointed assistant professor of pathology in the Chi-
cago Medical College. In 1886 he became professor of the principles and
practice of medicine and the following year professor of clinical medicine.
For many years he was secretary and subsequently dean of the faculty of
the Northwestern University Medical School.
He was physician to Mercy, Wesley and St. Luke's hospitals. He was
for many years first vice-president of the United States Pharmacopoeia con-
vention and was a member of the board until the time of his death. He was
also a member of the section of medicine of the Pan-American Medical Con-
gress and councilor of the section of pathology of the Ninth International
Medical Congress.
Dr. Davis was one of the organizers of the Society of Medical History of
Chicago in 1909, and was active in the affairs of many other medical and
scientific organizations. Among these were the American Medical Asso-
ciation, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the
American Therapeutic Society, the American Academy of Medicine, the
Illinois State and Chicago Medical societies, the Chicago Pathological
Society, the Chicago Neurological Society, the American Tuberculosis
Society, the Chicago Tuberculosis Institute and the Intitute of Medicine of
Chicago.
For many years Dr. Davis was a trustee of Northwestern University,
Wesley Hospital and the Young Men's Christian Association.
As a writer Dr. Davis' name was familiar in the scientific and medical
journals of America. He was also the author of several books, including
"A Treatise of General Practice" (made up of his lectures), "Consumption
—How to Live With It," and "Diet in Health and Disease."
Dr. Davis married Miss Jessie Hopkins at Madison, Wis., June 17, 1884.
They had three children, Nathan Smith Davis, III, who became a Chicago
physician, Ruth and William Deering Davis. Dr. Davis' death occurred in
Pasadena, Cal., December 21, 1920.
WILLIAM EVANS CASSELBERRY
(1858-1915)
Dr. William Evans Casselberry was a collateral descendant of Dr. Benja-
min Rush, after whom Rush Medical College was named. He was the son of
Jacob Rush Casselberry and Ellen Lane Evans and was born in Philadelphia,
September 6, 1858.
Graduating from the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania
in 1879, he did post-graduate work in Vienna and in London.
Dr. Casselberry's practice in Chicago began in 1883. In that year he was
elected professor of materia medica and therapeutics in the Northwestern
University Medical School, holding that position until 1894. He was then
170
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
(Photo by Dana Hull)
NATHAN SMITH DAVIS, II
(Photo by Walinger)
WILLIAM EVANS CASSELBERRY
(Photo by Walinger)
MAXIMILIAN JOSEPH HERZOG
(Photo by Walinger)
JOSEPH ZEISLER
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 171
made professor of laryngology and rhinology in the same school. For years
he was attending laryngologist and rhinologist to St. Luke's and Wesley
Memorial hospitals.
He was a member of the American Medical Association, a member and
president of the American Laryngological Society and president of the Chi-
cago Laryngological Society. He was active in the affairs of the American
Climatological Association, the Illinois State and Chicago medical societies,
the Chicago Academy of Sciences, the Chicago Tuberculosis Institute, the
National Association for the Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis and the
Physicians' Club of Chicago.
On June 23, 1891, he married Miss Lillian Hibbard, who, with a daughter,
Catharine, and two sons, Hibbard and William Evans Casselberry, Jr., sur-
vived him. He died at his summer home at Lake Forest, 111., July 11, 1915.
MAXIMILIAN JOSEPH HERZOG
(1858-1918)
Student and pathologist, Dr. Maximilian Joseph Herzog was indefatigable
in research.
Dr. Herzog was born at Frankfort-on-Main, September 17, 1858. An eager
desire for a scientific career prompted him to leave the bank of Speyer & Co.,
where he was employed, to spend the next three years at the Universities of
Giessen, Strassburg and Marburg as a student of biology, chemistry and
physics.
Coming to the United States in 1882, Dr. Herzog engaged in newspaper
work in St. Louis and Cincinnati. While so employed he studied in the Medi-
cal College of Ohio, from which he was graduated in 1890. Choosing otology,
rhinology and laryngology as his specialty, he spent the following two years
in post graduate study in the Universities of Wiirzburg, Munich, Leipzig,
Berlin and Vienna. He returned to the United States in 1892 and practiced
medicine in Cincinnati until 1894, when he came to Chicago. In the latter
year he married Seraphina Ernau of Berlin, Germany. From 1896 until 1903
he was pathologist at the Policlinic Hospital and while there made valuable
contributions to scientific knowledge.
In 1903 Dr. Herzog went to Manila as pathologist to the Bureau of Science.
There he made an exhaustive study of tropical diseases and in 1906 he was
sent from Manila to Japan to investigate beri-beri. His findings were widely
published.
Upon his return to Chicago he was appointed an expert to examine into
the sanitation of the stock yards. At the same time he became professor
and bacteriologist in the Chicago Veterinary College. He held this position
until 1913. In these years Dr. Herzog prepared an elaborate text book on
comparative pathology, which has not been published. For three years he
was pathologist to Michael Reese Hospital and later he was on the staff of
the German, Alexian Brothers and North Chicago hospitals.
In 1912 he became professor of pathology in the medical department of
Loyola University and in 1913 he was elected dean of the department, a
position he held until his retirement in 1916. In 1914 he was appointed chief
of the department of pathology of Cook County Hospital.
He was a member of many societies, including the American Medical Asso-
ciation, the Chicago and Illinois State Medical societies, the Society of Medi-
cal History of Chicago, the Chicago Pathological Society, of which he was
president in 1902-03; and the Chicago German Medical Society, of which he
172 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
was twice president. He was also a Fellow of the American Association of
Pathology, American Society of Bacteriologists, American Association for
Cancer Research, American Association of Anatomists, American Micro-
scopical Society, American Society of Internal Medicine and the American
Association for the Advancement of Science. He was also first lieutenant in
the Medical Reserve Corps of the United States Army.
In 1916 he became a director of the Municipal Tuberculosis Sanitarium,
where he died, August 9, 1918, from chronic interstitial nephritis.
Among Dr. Herzog's published writings was a "Text Book on Disease-
Producing Micro-Organisms."
JOSEPH ZEISLER
(1858-1919)
Dr. Joseph Zeisler, dermatologist, was born in Bielitz, Austrian Silesia, Oc-
tober 7, 1858, a son of Isaac and Anna (Kanner) Zeisler. He entered the
medical department of the University of Vienna in October, 1876, and for five
years studied under the guidance of Professors Billroth, Arlt and Braun,
graduating July 3, 1882. As an interne he entered the General Hospital of
Vienna, devoting his time especially to diseases of the skin under Professor
Kaposi.
He served one year as lieutenant surgeon in the Austrian army in 1883-4
and was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant surgeon. In 1884 he came
to Chicago, where, on June 25, 1885, he married Miss Theresa Feuchtmann.
From 1888 to 1895 Dr. Zeisler was professor of skin and venereal diseases
at the Post-Graduate Medical School. He was called to the chair of derma-
tology in the Woman's Medical College in the spring of 1889 and in the fall
of the same year he was chosen professor of skin and venereal diseases at
Northwestern University Medical School. He was chief dermatologist to
Mercy, Wesley and Michael Reese hospitals and the South Side Dispensary.
He was president for one term of both the German Medical Society of Chi-
cago and the American Dermatological Association. He was an active mem-
ber of several other professional organizations, including the American Med-
ical Association, the Chicago and Illinois State Medical societies, the Chicago
Dermatological Society, the International Dermatological Congress and the
Dermatological Society of Germany, and corresponding member of the Vi-
enna Dermatological Society and the Dermatological Association of Italy.
He was also a member of the Cliff Dwellers and the Chicago Literary and
City clubs.
Dr. Zeisler died August 31, 1919. He was survived by his widow and three
children, Dr. Erwin Paul Zeisler, who succeeded his father in the practice of
his specialty; Miss Anita Lucille Zeisler, who became Mrs. Edwin B. Mayer;
and Miss Doris Josephine Zeisler.
Following the death of Dr. Zeisler, the following tribute was paid to him
by Dr. G. Frank Lydston:
"By the death of Dr. Zeisler, the medical profession has lost one of its most
notable figures. Brilliant, scholarly, always the high bred gentleman, he was
a credit alike to the community and to his chosen profession. Few men are so
broadly cultured, or so scientifically well grounded in medicine as was Dr.
Zeisler. His charm of manner and his accomplishments won for him the
admiration and esteem of all who knew him."
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 173
FLORENCE W. HUNT
(1858-1903)
Dr. Florence W. Hunt was prominent in medical affairs in Chicago dur-
ing her comparatively short career. Born in 1858, she was graduated from
the Woman's Medical College of Chicago in 1884.
She was resident physician at the Cook County Insane Hospital during
its stormiest days. She was also a member of the attending staffs of St.
Joseph's and Cook County Hospitals.
She was one of the founders and most active members of the Medical
Women's Club of Chicago, and also held membership in the American
Medical Association and the Chicago Medical and Illinois State Medical
societies.
She died in St. Mary's Hospital, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, May 27, 1903.
She numbered many staunch friends in and outside of the medical profes-
sion, having the faculty of making intimates of men, as well as of her
women associates. This was at a time when women generally were not
welcomed into the profession.
WALTER SHIELD CHRISTOPHER
(1859-1905)
Founder of the system of medical inspection in the Chicago public schools,
Dr. Walter Shield Christopher was a pediatrician whose abilities were
signalized by his election to the presidency of the American Pediatric Society
in 1902.
Dr. Christopher was born at Newport, Ky., March 14, 1859. He was
graduated from the Medical College of Ohio in 1883. In this institution he
was appointed demonstrator of chemistry. He was also consulting chemist
to the Rookwood Pottery in Cincinnati, perfecting there some of the glazes
that have enhanced the fame of Rookwood ware.
On Christmas Day, 1884, Dr. Christopher married Miss Henrietta Wen-
deroth. In 1890 he was called to the chair of the theory and practice of
medicine at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.
After serving a year at Ann Arbor, Dr. Christopher was appointed pro-
fessor of diseases of children at the Chicago Policlinic. In 1892 he was
appointed to a similar position in the College of Physicians and Surgeons of
Chicago. From this time he devoted himself to pediatrics.
For fourteen years prior to his death, Dr. Christopher was an attending
physician at the Children's Memorial Hospital and was active in its develop-
ment A bed in the hospital with an endowment of $10,000 stands in his
name.
Dr. Christopher had become a member of the American Pediatric Society
in 1889 and in 1902 was elected president of that organization. From 1898
to 1900 he was a member of the board of education in Chicago and was
instrumental in establishing a system of medical inspection in the public
schools and also a child study department.
Dr. Christopher died March 2, 1905. A son, Dr. Frederick Christopher,
ten years later became a Chicago physician.
Of Dr. Christopher, Dr. Frank Billings once wrote:
"Dr. Christopher is not an ordinary man. He is not satisfied with look-
ing into the ordinary every-day pathology of diseases of children, but he
is constantly on the alert for things which the ordinary man does not see.
174 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
FLORENCE W. HUNT
WALTER SHIELD CHRISTOPHER
HENRY BAIRD FAVILL
FRIEDRICH CURT HARNISCH
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 175
"For this reason he has sometimes been called a 'faddist,' but this cannot
be applied to him, for he is sure to look with a common sense view at every-
thing, and the unique things which he investigates he adds to and makes
fit into his everyday practice. He has done much for the growing child, and
especially has he worked in a sensible and epoch-making way for the school
children of Chicago."
HENRY BAIRD FAVILL
(1860-1916)
Known to Chicagoans both as an important figure in the medical profes-
sion and for his active interest in civic affairs, Dr. Henry Baird Favill also
achieved a reputation that was national in character.
He was born in Madison, Wis., August 14, 1860, the son of Dr. John and
Louise Sophia (Baird) Favill. His first paternal American ancestor was
John Favill, who came from England before the Revolution and fought in
the Continental Army.
On the maternal side, Dr. Favill was descended from the Ottawa Chief
Kewinoquot (Returning Cloud) and was proud of his Indian ancestry. In
later years, when his wife was elected a Colonial Dame, Dr. Favill was
asked whether he could not qualify for the Society of Mayflower Descend-
ants. "No," was the retort. "My people were on the reception committee."
After graduating from the University of Wisconsin in 1880, he attended
Rush Medical College where he received his degree in 1883. Following an
interne service at Cook County Hospital, he returned to Madison to begin
practice with his father. The latter died in a few months.
In 1885 Dr. Favill married Miss Susan Cleveland Pratt of Brooklyn, N. Y.,
and continued general practice in Madison until 1894. During this period he
lectured on medical jurisprudence at the University of Wisconsin.
Leaving a large practice, he came to Chicago in 1894, accepting simulta-
neous calls to the professorship of medicine in the Chicago Policlinic and to
an adjunct professorship of medicine in Rush Medical College. From this
latter post he was promoted in 1898 to the Ingals Professorship of Preventive
Medicine and Therapeutics, and in 1906 became Professor of Clinical Medicine.
His plan to do considerable research work in Chicago was never fulfilled.
Within a year he had become immersed in an extensive practice in internal
medicine which continued to grow as time passed. His hospital connec-
tions were with the Augustana, Passavant Memorial and St. Luke's Hospi-
tals. Most of his work was done at the latter institution.
In addition to his regular medical work, Dr. Favill devoted great energy
in later years to problems of public health, civic reform and agriculture. At
various times he was president of the following bodies: Medical Board of
St. Luke's Hospital, Chicago Medical Society, Chicago Tuberculosis Insti-
tute, City Club, Municipal Voters' League, National Committee for Mental
Hygiene, and National Dairy Council. He was an influential member of
the American Association for Labor Legislation and the National Associa-
tion for the Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis. For some years he was
a Trustee of the Chicago Bureau of Public Efficiency and a Director of the
United Charities.
His membership in medical organizations included the Chicago Medi-
cal, Chicago Neurological and Chicago Pathological societies, Society of
Internal Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Society of Medical History, Phy-
sicians' Club, Illinois State Medical and Wisconsin State Medical societies
176 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
and American Medical Association. In the latter he was Chairman of the
Council on Health and Public Instruction.
Among his clubs were the University, City, Saddle and Sirloin, and Com-
mercial. He was the first man without commercial connections in Chicago
to be elected to the latter organization. He belonged to the Beta Theta Pi,
Nu Sigma Nu, and Phi Beta Kappa fraternities. He held the rank of First
Lieutenant in the Medical Reserve Corps. The University of Wisconsin
in 1915 conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Laws.
Dr. Favill's published articles and addresses covered a wide range of topics.
Of these, the most important and influential was probably "The Public and
the Medical Profession, a Square Deal," given before the Pennsylvania State
Medical Society in 1915 and in which he surveyed conditions of practice and
expressed his own ideals.
Of striking appearance, due to his Indian type, splendid physique and
erect carriage, he commanded confidence everywhere. Contact with his
strength inspired strength and insincerity was shamed in his stalwart pres-
ence. He loved life in the open and did a great deal of walking, seldom wear-
ing an overcoat in winter. He never owned an automobile. His tastes were
simple and he was a man of moderate habits in all but work. His mind was
keenly analytical and his memory remarkable. His vigorous thinking, clear
vision, sense of justice and force of personality made him a most valued
executive, and his insight, sympathy and scientific acumen ensured his pro-
fessional success.
He hoped to retire and devote himself to his model dairy farm at Lake
Mills, Wis., but during a visit to Springfield, Mass., where he had gone to
attend an agricultural conference, he contracted pneumonia and died, Febru-
ary 20, 1916, leaving his widow and one son, Dr. John Favill.
FRIEDRICH CURT HARNISCH
(1860-1918)
A graduate of the University of Leipzig and first assistant to Prof. Coccius,
Dr. Friedrich Curt Harnisch came to Chicago in 1891, to take up the practice
of ophthalmology, in which he was to gain an unusual success.
He was born at Teuchern, Germany, December 1, 1860. After his pre-
liminary education under the direction of his father, who was a prominent
schoolman, he followed his medical studies at the Universities of Halle, Frei-
burg and Leipzig. After graduation, his teacher in ophthalmology, Prof.
Coccius, offered him an assistantship on the University Eye Clinic of Leipzig.
He accepted and finally advanced to a first assistantship, which he held for
a number of years.
Immediately after the publication of Prof. Roentgen's epochal invention of
radiography in December, 1895, Dr. Harnisch became deeply interested in
this new science and with Dr. Otto L. Schmidt started the first successful
X-ray laboratory in America in January, 1896, having been fortunate in secur-
ing an 8-inch spark coil that had been made for laboratory purposes and had
stood on the manufacturer's shelves for years unsold. Through this coil
successful pictures were soon made, but on account of Dr. Harnisch's devo-
tion to ophthalmology and the rapid specialization of roentgenology, the
laboratory was sold in June, 1896, to Mr. W. C. Fuchs, who became one of
the earliest pioneers in high grade skiagraph work, but paid for his zeal and
constant work with the X-ray apparatus by his death through an X-ray
cancer.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 177
Dr. Harnisch thereafter devoted all his time to eye work exclusively. He
was attending occulist to Alexian Brothers, St. Elizabeth's and German hos-
pitals and he was a member of the Chicago Medical Society, American Medi-
cal Association, Illinois State Medical and German Medical societies.
He was a man most punctual in the performance of even the smallest of
his duties and he was revered by his patients to an unusual degree.
Dr. Harnisch married Miss Anna Haferkorn, who with a son, Walter, and
daughter, Martha, now Mrs. William Zellweger, survived him.
He died May 25, 1918, of pneumonia.
JULIA DYER MERRILL
(1861-1914)
A pediatrician of distinction, Dr. Julia Dyer Merrill was devoted to the
welfare of the children of the poor.
She was born at Saco, Maine, March 11, 1861 and was educated in the
public schools of that town. For two years she taught school before entering
a training school for nurses at New Haven, Connecticut, where she was
graduated.
She took a post graduate course at the New York Lying-in Hospital and
for two years was superintendent of the North Adams (Mass.) Training
School for Nurses. Thereupon she devoted three years to the study of medi-
cine at Wooster (Ohio) University. She was graduated from the Woman's
Medical School of Northwestern University in 1895.
In practice she made pediatrics her specialty. She also taught in the depart-
ment of pediatrics in Rush Medical College from 1897 to 1913.
She was a member of the staffs of the Presbyterian, the Tabitha, the Chicago
Maternity, the Mary Thompson and the Maimonides hospitals. She also de-
voted much time to the Lincoln Park Sanitarium for babies, the Jackson Park
Sanitarium and the Marks Nathan Jewish Orphanage.
Dr. Merrill was a co-worker of Dr. Alfred C. Cotton for several years and
assisted him in the compilation of his works on the diseases of children. She
was a member of the milk commission of the Chicago Medical Society and
much of the success of the enterprise was said to be due to her efforts. She
was also a member of the leading professional societies. .
She died in Chicago, May 18, 1914.
FRANK HUGH MONTGOMERY
(1862-1908)
Dermatologist and associate of Dr. James Nevins Hyde, Dr. Frank Hugh
Montgomery was at the peak of a useful career in Chicago when a yacht
which he was sailing on Lake Michigan was overturned and he was drowned.
He was born at Fair Haven, Minnesota, January 6, 1862. After he com-
pleted his academic education at the University of Michigan, he was
graduated from Rush Medical College in 1888. He was professor of derma-
tology in the Chicago Clinical School and associate professor of skin and
genito-urinary diseases in Rush Medical College.
For several years he was associated with Dr. James Nevins Hyde in the
compilation of medical works. Dr. Montgomery was dermatologist to
St. Elizabeth's, Presbyterian and St. Anthony de Padua Hospitals.
He was a member of the American Dermatological Congress, the American
Physicians' and Surgeons' Association, the American Medical Association,
the Illinois State and the Chicago Medical societies, the Chicago Pathological
178
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
FRANK HUGH MONTGOMERY
(Photo by Melvin Syki-s)
CARL WAGNER
MARIE LOUISE WHITE
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 179
Society, and the Physicians' Club. He was also an organizer of the Chicago
Dermatological Society.
It was while sailing on Lake Michigan near his summer home in Michigan,
July 14, 1908, that Dr. Montgomery encountered a squall and was drowned
while trying to save a companion who had been thrown with him into the
water by the capsizing of a boat.
On January 11, 1897, Dr. Montgomery married Miss Caroline L. William-
son. There were three children, Hamilton, Charlotte and Mary Louise
Montgomery.
CARL WAGNER
(1863-1921)
Dr. Carl Wagner was born April 14, 1863, near the cathedral city of
Worms, Rhine-Phalz, Germany, the eldest son of Philip Henry Wagner, a
naturalized American citizen. The father had come to the United States in
1848, but had returned to Germany in 1859.
The future surgeon's preliminary education was received in the towns of
Frankenthal, Speyer and Landau. His parents destined him for the min-
istry and, after winning a scholarship in the Lutheran seminary at Utrecht,
he consented to continue the study of theology, provided he might go to
America to do so. Consequently, the scholarship was transferred to a
Lutheran seminary in St. Louis and he sailed for America in 1882.
A chance meeting with a chemist in New York City changed the course
of Dr. Wagner's life. He entered the drug trade, in which he remained for
five years, serving as apprentice, manager and owner of drug stores. In 1887
he began the study of medicine and the succeeding four years were spent
in the Universities of Munich, Geneva, Halle, Berlin and Heidelberg. He
received his medical degree from the last-named university in 1891.
Almost immediately he returned to America and settled in Detroit, but a
year later he came to Chicago, where he soon established himself as a sur-
geon. He early became a member of the surgical staff of St. Joseph's Hos-
pital and continued in that position until his death. He was also consulting
surgeon to the Municipal Tuberculosis Sanitarium and the Columbus and
Cook County hospitals.
For many years Dr. Wagner was professor of surgery and demonstrator
of anatomy in the Post-Graduate Medical School of Chicago in the. days
when it was on the west side. He also served as professor of extramural
surgery in Rush Medical College.
He was an active member of the Chicago Medical Society, having served
as president of the north side branch, and at the time of his death was a
member of the council. He was also a Fellow of the American College of
Surgeons and a member of the American Medical Association, the Illinois
State Medical Society and the Chicago Pathological Society.
In 1894 he married Miss Louisa Ottilie Carll. There were a son and
daughter, Carl and Louisa Wagner, who followed their father in the practice
of medicine. A brother, Henry E. Wagner, is also a north side physician.
Dr. Wagner died March 11, 1921.
MARIE LOUISE WHITE
(1868-1918)
Dr. Marie Louise White was born in Clarkesville, New York, April 25,
180
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
THEODORE BERNARD SACHS
ADOLPH GEHRMANN
(Photo by Walinger)
HOWARD TAYLOR RICKETTS
(Photo by Steffens)
MORTIMER FRANK
181
1868, the daughter of Andrew Burnside and Rachel Elizabeth Robertson
White. Her parents moved to Iowa in 1876 and a year later to Chicago.
After her graduation from the Austin High School she attended Oberlin
College from 1884 to 1887. She later entered the Woman's Medical College
of Chicago, from which she was graduated in 1892. After serving as an in-
terne in the Woman's Hospital she began the practice of medicine.
She was an instructor in gynecology in the Post-Graduate Medical School
and for two years was superintendent of the Charity Hospital, later becom-
ing assistant to Dr. Henry T. Byford. She also held clinics for several
years in the Mary Thompson Hospital.
She was a member of the American Medical Association, the Chicago and
Illinois State Medical Societies, the Society of Medical History of Chicago
and the Medical Women's Club.
Dr. White died July 6, 1918.
THEODORE BERNARD SACHS
(1868-1916)
Dr. Theodore Bernard Sachs, physician, public health worker and tuber-
culosis specialist, was born in Dinaberg, Russia, May 2, 1868, the son of
Bernard and Sophia Sachs, of Jewish faith. After being graduated from the
Kherson High School, he received a degree in law in 1891 from the Imperial
New Russian University of Odessa. Emigrating to America shortly after-
ward, he came to Chicago, where he worked his way through the College of
Physicians and Surgeons, from which he was graduated in 1895. During his
freshman year he received the highest honor in his class, the faculty medal.
After an interneship of two years at the Michael Reese Hospital, Dr. Sachs
established an office at Twelfth and Halsted streets in order to serve the
sick poor, both in private practice and in the clinics of the Jewish Aid Dis-
pensary, the first in Chicago to be devoted exclusively to the examination
and treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis. Here he served more than ten
years.
In 1903 Dr. Sachs began intensive studies of the prevalence and incidence of
tuberculosis among children of tuberculous parents in a small congested
area near his office. Charts of these studies, made in collaboration with his
wife, Mrs. Lena Louise Wilson Sachs, received honorable mention at the
International Tuberculosis Congress in Washington in 1908.
In 1905 Dr. Sachs became attending physician at the Glencoe camp, the
first in Illinois for poor tuberculous patients. From this crude beginning
there was developed a winter camp at Dunning and the Edward Sanatorium
at Naperville, of which he was director and examining physician from 1906
until his death, in 1916.
From this period Dr. Sachs gave the greater part of his time to free
tuberculous work, serving as director and president of the Chicago Tuber-
culosis Institute ; from 1909 as secretary and later president of the Municipal
Tuberculosis Commission, and in 1915-16 as president of the National Asso-
ciation for the Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis. He was also attending
physician at the Chicago-Winfield Sanitarium, examining physician for the
Jewish National Consumptives' hospital at Denver and the founder and first
president of the Robert Koch Society for the Study of Tuberculosis.
The establishment of a municipal tuberculosis institution, in which any
consumptive, regardless of his pecuniary condition, could receive adequate
182 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
scientific treatment, for years had been Dr. Sachs' chief aim and for four
years, beginning in 1911, he devoted from two to six hours each day to his
work as chairman of the committee on plans for the Municipal Tuberculosis
Sanitarium, funds for which had been made available under the Glackin law.
The beneficent project had hardly been well launched when Dr. Sachs
began to encounter what he believed to be sinister political influences that
menaced his cherished undertaking. These conditions so wrought upon him
that on April 2, 1916, he committed suicide at the Edward Sanatorium.
Without Dr. Sachs' utter devotion to the work of controlling tuberculosis
in Chicago, the campaign would unquestionably have lagged. As physician
selected by the Visiting Nurse Association to carry on the work of their
tuberculosis committee, he so impressed his co-workers with the importance
of the problem that a separate organization, the Chicago Tuberculosis Insti-
tute, was formed to fight tuberculosis in Chicago. Dr. Sachs was for several
years president of the Institute. He later organized a committee of the
Institute to investigate the County Tuberculosis Hospital at Oak Forest. As a
result of the constructive criticism emanating from his committee, an ade-
quate medical and nursing corps was given the hospital, to the great good
of its patients.
Dr. Sachs was connected with every important public health activity in
any way connected with tuberculosis in Cook County. He was a born leader,
a tireless worker and a man whose code was ever strict where moral courage
and honesty of purpose were involved. His untimely death came as the cul-
mination of his struggle against the self-seeking politicians whose character
he could not comprehend. After his death, charges of malfeasance in the
conduct of the Municipal Sanitarium were proved to be without foundation.
ADOLPH GEHRMANN
(1868-1920)
The province of Dr. Adolph Gehrmann was the laboratory, where he was
a pioneer in many fields of bacteriological study. He will also be remembered
as the organizer of the bureau of food inspection of the city of Chicago.
Born in Decatur, 111., July 19, 1868, he came to Chicago in 1884. After his
graduation from the South Division High School in 1887, he entered the
Chicago Medical College, from which he was graduated in 1890. He then
served two years as interne in Cook County Hospital, and, after pursuing
special studies in bacteriology and chemistry, he was appointed demonstrator
in the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Chicago and professor of bac-
teriology in the Post-Graduate Medical School.
Beginning in January, 1893, Dr. Gehrmann made an extensive eastern trip
to procure data for the establishment of a bureau of food inspection for the
city of Chicago, and spent a year thereafter in organizing that department,
of which he was superintendent from 1894 to 1903. In the former year he
established the Columbus Medical Laboratories, of which he became presi-
dent.
In 1894 Dr. Gehrmann was elected professor of bacteriology and hygiene in
the College of Physicians and Surgeons and served for twenty-five years.
Resigning on account of ill health, he was made professor emeritus.
He was a member of the American Public Health Association, the Ameri-
can Medical Association, the Illinois State and Chicago Medical societies, the
Illinois State Academy of Medicine, the Chicago Academy of Sciences, the
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 183
German Medical Society, the Chicago Pathological Society and the Lake
Michigan Water Commission.
On December 24, 1910, Dr. Gehrmann married Miss Albertina Marianne
Weinstein of Milwaukee, who survived him upon his death, October 3, 1920.
HOWARD TAYLOR R1CKETTS
(1871-1910)
Dr. Howard Taylor Ricketts sacrificed his life to the cause of medical
science.
Successful research in the causation of spotted fever in Montana prompted
him to undertake in Mexico a similar investigation of typhus fever, which
in many ways resembles it. In his zeal he encountered dangers that brought
about his death in the prime of a career that promised to parallel that of
Walter Reed, "who gave to man control of that fearful scourge, yellow
fever."
Dr. Ricketts was born at Findlay, Ohio, February 9, 1871. He passed
his youth in Nebraska and was graduated in arts from the University of
Nebraska in 1894. Three years later he received his medical degree from
the Northwestern University Medical School. During his student days it
was necessary for him to earn money during vacations to carry him through
school.
After serving as interne at Cook County Hospital, he was successively
fellow and instructor in pathology in Rush Medical College. Returning
from a year's visit to Europe in 1902, he became an instructor in the newly
established department of pathology and bacteriology in the University of
Chicago, later being appointed assistant professor of pathology. Shortly be-
fore his death he was called to the chair of pathology in the University of
Pennsylvania. This position he never held.
In 1906, while on a vacation enforced by overwork, he became interested
in the mysterious disease called Rocky Mountain spotted fever. He proved
the erroneousness of certain views as to its etiology and showed that the
ailment was conveyed to man by the accidental bite of an infected adult
tick. In 1909 he discovered what seemed to be the immediate cause of
spotted fever — a small bacillus, which he found in the blood of patients and
in ticks.
Owing to the similarity of typhus fever, he felt that his three years' study
of spotted fever especially fitted him for investigation of tabardillo, or Mex-
ican typhus. In Mexico City, to which he went, tabardillo claimed hundreds
of victims annually, including a high percentage of physicians and nurses.
Dr. Ricketts fully understood the dangers to which he would be exposed,
but braved them in the interest of medical science.
In a year he found that Mexican typhus is communicated by the body
louse and that it could be conveyed to monkeys, in which he also produced
an immunity. While pushing this and other work to completion, he was
stricken with tabardillo and died May 3, 1910.
In 1900 Dr. Ricketts married Miss Myra Tubbs, from whom he received
much help and encouragement. With two children, she survived him.
The Mexican government had Dr. Ricketts' works on Mexican typhus
collected and published in Spanish in a handsome volume of 135 pages en-
titled "Howard Taylor Ricketts y sus Trabajos sobre el Tabardillo." The
laboratory in Mexico in which he did his work was named after him.
184 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
The Chicago Pathological Society published in 1911 a volume of 497 pages
entitled "Contributions to Medical Science by Howard Taylor Ricketts" and
containing the classical studies by Dr. Ricketts on oidiomycosis of the skin,
lymphatotoxic and neurotoxic sera, tetanus, Rocky Mountain fever and Mex-
ican typhus. i
Dr. Ricketts was president of the Chicago Pathological Society in 1905-06
and frequently contributed to its programs. He wrote a book on "Infection,
Immunity and Serum Therapy," which was published by the American
Medical Association Press in 1908.
A fund in the University of Chicago has been established by Mrs. Rick-
etts, known as the "Howard T. Ricketts Prize," which is awarded annually
for the best piece of research presented by any student in the department of
pathology and bacteriology. The departments of pathology and of hygiene
and bacteriology in the University of Chicago are housed in the Howard
Taylor Ricketts Laboratory.
Some of the personal qualities of Dr. Ricketts are well summarized by
Dr. Ludvig Hektoen :
"He was a modest and unassuming man of great determination and of the
highest character, loyal and generous, earnest and genuine in all his doings
— a personality of unusual and winning charm. He deliberately turned away
from the allurement of active medical practice to devote himself to teaching
and investigation in pathology."
MORTIMER FRANK
(1874-1919)
Of equal importance to the practice of his chosen specialty was the
literary side of medicine in the mind of Dr. Mortimer Frank, late secretary
of the Society of Medical History of Chicago.
"He toiled early and late to make this organization a center for all who
were interested in the struggles and accidents of our professional progress,"
Dr. Charles B. Reed has written, "and strove to make the records of those
events and of current history so ineffaceable that they could be interpreted
easily by future generations.
"It was a fortunate thing for medical history when Dr. Frank made it
his hobby. Into these antiquarian channels of medical history he poured a
fine and an irresistible enthusiasm, and so earnestly that at the time of his
death he had accomplished a literary work that was remarkable not only
in the amount, but in the high standard attained."
Dr. Frank was born in Buffalo, New York, May 26, 1874, the son of
Joseph H. and Fannie Goldsmith Frank. After being graduated in civil
engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1897, he
entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Chicago, from which he
received his medical degree in 1900.
Beginning the practice of ophthalmology after graduation, he became
attending ophthalmologist at Michael Reese Hospital. In 1915 he became
secretary of the Society of Medical History and editor of its Bulletin, con-
tinuing in this capacity until his death.
He was a member of the American Medical Association and the Chicago
Medical and Illinois State Medical societies. From 1910 to 1913 he served
as a director of the Chicago Public Library.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
185
On October 4, 1905, he married Miss Donie Katz of Chicago. There were
two children, Mary Elizabeth and Katherine Jane Frank.
Among Dr. Frank's papers in the study of medical history were "Philip
Syng Physick," "Caricature in Medicine" and "Medicine in English Litera-
ture Before the Eighteenth Century." In 1916 he began the translation of
Choulant's "History of Anatomical Illustration," one of the. classics of
medical literature. The translation was completed, but the work was yet in
press when he died April 21, 1919.
The books of his library, numbering about 3,000 volumes, were disposed
of to the University of Chicago, while his accumulation of portraits, prints
and catalogues went to the Surgeon-General's Library at Washington.
ST ANTON ABELES FRIEDBERG
(1875-1920)
Succeeding Dr. Mortimer Frank as secretary of the Society of Medical
History of Chicago, Dr. Stanton Abeles Friedberg lived but a little over a
year after the death of his predecessor. During that period he gave unspar-
ingly of his time and energy to the work of the society.
He was born in Chicago, Decem-
ber 1, 1875, the son of Cass and
Laura Abeles Friedberg. With the
exception of the first year, his boy-
hood was spent in Leavenworth,
Kansas. He attended the public
schools and then went to the Uni-
versity of Michigan for the term of
1892-93. In the latter year he en-
tered Rush Medical College, from
which he was graduated in 1897.
After a year's interneship in the
German Hospital of Chicago, he be-
gan the practice of general medi-
cine and in 1900 began his first work
in oto-laryngology as an assistant to
the late Dr. E. Fletcher Ingals. In
1903 he received an appointment to
the staff of Cook County Hospital.
In 1906, by civil service examina-
tion, he became attending oto-laryn-
gologist at Cook County Hospital,
holding this position until 1913,
when he became chief of the ear, nose and throat department in the same
institution. He continued in this capacity until October, 1919.
In 1905 he was made assistant instructor in the department of ear, nose
and throat in Rush Medical College, and two years later he became con-
sulting oto-laryngologist to the Durand Hospital of the John McCormick
Institute for Infectious Diseases. Here he did his best piece of work,
that on tonsillectomy in diphtheria carriers, later carrying forward this
work while a medical officer during the World War. In 1909 he began
his work at the Presbyterian Hospital, advancing from the rank of assistant
to attending laryngologist.
(Photo by Wallnger)
STANTON ABELES FRIEDBERG
186 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
In November, 1917, he was commissioned Major in the Medical Corps,
U. S. A., and served eight months in the Base Hospital at Camp Doniphan,
Fort Sill, Oklahoma. The following September he went to France, where
he served eight months. He received his discharge May 1, 1919.
Dr. Friedberg was the author of thirty or more published papers relating
to his specialty. He was a member of the American College of Surgeons,
the American Medical Association, the American Laryngological Associa-
tion, the American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society,
the American Medical Association, the Chicago Medical and Illinois State
Medical societies, the Chicago Laryngological and Otological Society and
the American Academy of Ophthalmology and Oto-Laryngology.
On October 23, 1906, he married Miss Aline Liebman of Shreveport,
Louisiana. She and three children, Jean, Louise and Stanton A. Fried-
berg, Jr., survived him upon his death, May 27, 1920.
Of Dr. Friedberg a colleague has written : "He was the first to remove
the tonsils and adenoids as a measure to cure diphtheria bacillus carriers.
He was acknowledged by professional laryngologists as the most expert in
Chicago in the removal of foreign bodies from the respiratory tract. His
interest in medical history was real, and not only that of one who enjoys
the possession of rare things."
Medical Colleges
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
189
(Photos by Gates)
RUSH MEDICAL COLLEGE and SENN HALL
Northeast Corner of Harrison and Wood Streets
*RUSH MEDICAL COLLEGE
IN 1843
A little school domiciled in two rented rooms, an adjunct to which was
a rude shed where students learned an important part of the sixteen weeks'
curriculum.
IN 1922
A component of one of the greatest universities in the world and a large
factor in one of the most elaborate projects for the advancement of medical
education ever conceived.
Such, in little more than three-quarters of a century, has been the progress
of Rush Medical College, whose founder in his introductory address at the
first session of the college, December 4, 1843, had said, "We believe the
school we this day open is destined to rank among the permanent institu-
tions of the state. It will pass into other and better hands, it will live on,
identified with the interests of a great and prosperous city."
Before Chicago had a corporate existence Rush Medical College had been
chartered in February, 1837, by the general assembly of Illinois.
It is the first charter for an institution of learning granted by the legisla-
ture of the state and it is the oldest charter under which any school of any
kind is now in operation in Illinois.
*This history is based principally upon data derived from "The History of Rush Medical College,"
written in 1896 by Doctors Norman Bridge and John Edwin Rhodes: "The Making of a Modern Medical
School: A Sketch of Rush Medical College," written in 1901 by Dr. Rhodes; and "The Affiliation of Rush
Medical College with the University of Chicago," written by Dr. -John M. Dodson and published in the
Bulletin of the Alumni Association of Rush Medical College.
190 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
In 1836 Chicago was a vigorous, prosperous young community of 3,000
persons. But two bridges spanned the creek called the Chicago River. The
houses were primitive and of flimsy construction. The sidewalks were
"duck-boards" and in rainy weather the streets were bogs, almost impassable.
"No bottom" signs frequently were stuck in the ooze of Lake Street, the
principal thoroughfare. There were neither sewers nor drains and drinking
water was carried from the lake and the river in pails and barrels.
The faith of its denizens was profound. From 1833 to 1836 the town
had grown seventeen fold. Some day this remarkable village would have
a population of 100,000! The vast prairies of its hinterland were rich and
fertile. The town was at the head of navigation on Lake Michigan and a
water way was to join the lake and the Mississippi River. Days of great
abundance were near and against the time of prosperity and expansion, a city
charter was planned.
In this stirring epoch came to Chicago a young doctor from "York State,"
as Chicagoans called it then. He was Daniel Brainard. He had been two
years with a preceptor in Whitesboro, New York. He had studied a year
at a medical college in Fairfield, New York. Another year in Jefferson
Medical College in 1834 completed his preparation. While teaching for two
years he acquired a knowledge of Latin and French in his leisure hours.
He was a man of rugged character and of high ambition. He possessed '
executive force to an exceptional degree. Says a commentator, "With a fine
presence, dignified and a trifle austere, but active and industrious, he was
bound to succeed and to lead."
Zeal to impart his science and art to others possessed the young pioneer.
The opportunity to pursue his plans in Chicago seemed exceptional. So
about the time that Eli B. Williams and other leading- inhabitants of the
village invoked the general assembly for a city charter Dr. Brainard peti-
tioned the legislature for a charter creating Rush Medical College. In this
he was aided by Dr. J. C. Goodhue. The enabling act for the medical school
antedated the grant to the city of Chicago by several days.
There was inspiration in the name of Rush. In 1776 Benjamin Rush had
been a member of the provisional conference of Pennsylvania and chairman
of the committee which reported to Congress that it was expedient to pro-
claim the separation of the colonies from the British Crown. A month later
he was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He was a professor
of the theory and practice of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania,
1789-1791, and from 1797 to 1813 he was professor of clinical practice.
A patriot and a pioneer in American medicine had furnished a proud
name for what was to become one of the great medical schools of the nation.
Although the name Rush was always the official name of the school, Brainard,
with local pride, usually referred to it as the Medical School of Chicago.
Though the panic of 1837 seriously hindered his plans, Dr. Brainard had
begun to teach anatomy and surgery privately to a few students. It was
not until the fall of 1843, however, that he and his associates felt warranted
in actually launching the college. Some of the faculty had to be sum-
moned from distant communities. Dr. John McLean, professor of the theory
and practice of medicine, came from his home in Jackson, Michigan, and
Dr. M. L. Knapp, of the chair of obstetrics and diseases of women and chil-
dren, journeyed from Waynesville, Illinois, Dr. James V. Z. Blaney, pro-
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 191
fessor of chemistry and materia medica, was the only member of the faculty
besides Dr. Brainard who resided in Chicago.
The first annual announcement of Rush Medical College was issued about
the end of October, 1843. It proclaimed, "The Rush Medical College was
chartered by the legislature of Illinois in 1837, but its organization has been
deferred to the present time when the interest of the medical profession
requires its being carried into full operation. The superior facilities for medical
instruction presented by Chicago cannot be denied by anyone acquainted
with the different towns in this region. The trustees have determined to lay
the foundation of a medical school whose means of teaching shall be ample
iti all the different branches, which shall be permanent and adequate to the
wants of the community, and which shall in all respects advance the interest
and honor of the profession."
But sixteen weeks comprised the term of instruction which was begun
December 4, 1843. To obtain the degree of doctor of medicine the require-
ments were three years of study with a respectable physician and two courses
of lectures, the latter in Rush Medical College. Two years of practice were
to be accepted in lieu of one course. It was necessary that the candidate be
twenty-one years old, that he have a good moral character and that he
present a thesis on some medical subejct of his own composition and "in
his own handwriting," which should be approved by the faculty.
The regular fees amounted to $65 and the graduating fee was $20. Pros-
pective students were assured that good board could be obtained in Chicago
at $2 to $2.50 a week.
The teaching of the first course was done by four men. As a rule four
lectures were delivered each day. There is nothing to indicate that physi-
ology was taught. Anatomy was thoroughly expounded, and chemistry was
presented theoretically. The lectures were given to twenty-two students
in two small rooms in the "Saloon" building at the southeast corner of
Clark and Lake Streets. There was one graduate.
Public spirited citizens had given the college a lot at the southeast corner
of Indiana (Grand Avenue) and Dearborn streets and in the summer of 1844
a building was erected on the site at a cost of $3,500. In the center was a
dome and the general aspect of the structure was such as to earn for it from
the late Dr. J. Adams Allen the name of the "rat-trap."
The second course at Rush was made notable by the lectures of the bril-
liant Austin Flint, who had become professor of the institutes and practice
of medicine. Dr. Flint then announced many of the doctrines of ethics
which later were incorporated into the code of the American Medical Asso-
ciation. Dr. W. B. Herrick became lecturer on anatomy at this time, thus
permitting Dr. Brainard to devote all his time to surgery.
Fifty-one surgical cases and operations were exhibited to the class during
the session of 1846-47. The college clinic was growing. Among the stu-
dents at this term were Joseph W. Freer and Ephraim Ingals, both of whom
in later years were to render distinguished service to their alma mater.
Now was established a public hospital to be under the care of members of
the faculty, who gave a regular course of clinical instruction. From Decem-
ber 1, 1846, to June 23 following, four hundred and forty-two cases were
attended at the hospital and the dispensary connected with it.
192 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
The college, as well as the city, was prospering and expanding. New
talent was sought for the school and in 1849 Dr. N. S. Davis was summoned
from New York City to occupy the chair of physiology and pathology and
Dr. Thomas Spencer of Geneva Medical College (N. Y.) took the place
of Dr. G. G. Fitch in the chair of principles and practice of medicine. For
Dr. Spencer it was said, "It may be added that he is familiar with the
various forms of malarious diseases from observation in the middle west
as well as in the district of his former practice." This was especially urged
at a time when malarial disease was prevalent in the region of Chicago.
The only good treatment was quinine, which in those days sometimes cost
$5 an ounce.
Dr. Davis, to be known in later years as the "Nestor of the American
Medical Association," was described in the college anonuncements as "the
originator of a plan for a National Association whose influence in the cause
ot icform and improvement had already been beneficially felt." Dr. Joseph
W. Freer succeeded Dr. J. B. Herrick, a brother of Dr. W. B. Herrick, as
demonstrator of anatomy in 1850 and it was not long before Dr. Davis
became professor of pathology, practice of medicine and clinical medicine ;
Dr. W. B. Herrick assumed the department of physiology and Dr. Brainard
was announced as professor of surgery and clinical surgery. Dr. Herrick
was in charge of the United States Marine Hospital, which was located on
the east side of Michigan Avenue, near River Street, and which had been
started in 1850-51. The Illinois General Hospital of the Lakes about this
time was established in the old Lake House at the corner of North Water
and Rush Streets. There Dr. Brainard had charge of the surgical service
and Dr. Davis of the medical. In 1851-2 the Hospital of the Lakes passed
under the care of the Sisters of Mercy and thenceforth it was known as
Mercy Hospital.
Teaching of anatomy was assumed in 1855 by Dr. Joseph W. Freer. Dr.
Hosmer A. Johnson became professor of materia medica and medical juris-
prudence and Dr. Edmund Andrews, lecturer on comparative anatomy and
demonstrator. It was at this time that the college was rebuilt at an expense
of $15,000. It now had a capacity of 250 students.
The year 1857 witnessed the accession to the faculty of Dr. William Heath
Byford of Evansville, Indiana, who became professor of obstetrics and dis-
eases of women.
/ In 1859 occurred the schism that resulted in separation from the faculty
/of Doctors N. S. Davis, W. H. Byford, J. H. Hollister and H. A. Johnson.
( Dr. Davis and his party had vigorously advocated changes in policy which
/ included, among other things, a graded course of instruction. Dr. Brainard
and others spiritedly opposed the innovations. There had also been certain
"incompatibilities." The seceding members at once founded the Medical
Department of Lind University, later known as the Chicago Medical Col-
lege, and which finally became the Northwestern University Medical School.
They took with them the clinical service of Mercy Hospital.
Now came to Rush, as the result of the departure of Dr. Davis and his
colleagues, several distinguished teachers, among whom were Dr. Jonathan
Adams Allen, professor of medicine ; Dr. De Laskie Miller, professor o{
obstetrics, and Dr. Robert L. Rea, professor of anatomy, the last-named in
place of Dr. Freer, transferred to the new department of surgical and
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
microscopic anatomy. At this time Dr. Ephraim Ingals became professor
of muteria medica and medical jurisprudence. The City Hospital now be-
came the clinical field of instruction instead of Mercy Hospital. However,
during the civil war, the City Hospital was commandeered as a military
eye and car hospital. \Yhen it was restored to local authority it passed
under the control of the county government, .the city council having dis-
covered that it was under no legal obligation to maintain a public hospital.
The institution became known as the County Hospital and was continued
at the same location, Eighteenth and Arnold streets. Several years later
a new and larger hospital, predecessor of the one now existing, was erected
on the ground bounded by Wood, Polk, Lincoln and Harrison streets. In
1867 Dr. Joseph Presley Ross became a clinical lecturer in Rush College
and Dr. Henry M. Lyman was designated as pathologist.
In 1866 Rush Medical College suffered a great loss in the death of Pro-
fessor Brainard. He had gone to Europe in the spring, his health seriously
impaired. He returned in the autumn much improved and resumed his
lectures with accustomed vigor. Chicago was then in the grip of the
cholera epidemic. On October 9 at 5:00 P. M., Dr. Brainard lectured on
the subject of surgery. He digressed for a moment to comment on the
prevalent disease. During the same night he was himself attacked by the
malady and died the next evening.
Of Dr. Brainard, Dr. John Edwin Rhodes has written : "From the time
of the opening of Rush College until his death he served it with pre-eminent
ability. He was noted for his eloquence in the lecture room and on the
platform, and was distinguished as an operator and original investigator.
His experimental work on the use of iodine in surgery and on bone repair
made him famous. He received deserved recognition during his life time,
and, while easily the most commanding figure in medicine and surgery in
this great northwest, he should be classed among the most eminent men of
his time in American medical history."
Dr. James V. Z. Blaney now followed Dr. Brainard as president and Dr.
Moses Gunn, for many years professor of surgery at the University of
Michigan, succeeded to the chair of surgery left vacant by the lamented
president. At this time Dr. Edward L. Holmes was announced as a lecturer
on ophthalmology and otology.
A new chair of clinical medicine and diseases of the chest was created
after the commencement of 1868 and Dr. J. P. Ross was designated as the
incumbent. Dr. Charles T. Parkes, a graduate of a few weeks, succeeded
Dr. William Lewitt as demonstrator of anatomy. For twenty-three years
Dr. Parkes kept to this course. He died in harness as the sole professor of
surgery. The writing of a thesis as a condition of graduation was aban-
doned at this time.
Fn the winter of 1868-69 there was issued a little four-page announcement
of the spring course of lectures for 1869. The lectures were to continue
from March 3 to July 1. Dr. Blaney was to teach practical chemistry, and
Doctors Gunn and Ross were to give "Cliniques." The teaching corps
consisted in addition of the following named men, with their branches
respectively: W. R. Marsh, instructor in principles and practice of medicine;
J. H. Etheridge, instructor in materia medica ; C. T. Parkes, instructor in
anatomy; H. M. Lyman. instructor in physiology; C. T. Fenn, instructor in
obstetrics; I. N. Danforth. instructor in toxicology and medical jurispru-
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
dence ; H. F. Chesbrough, demonstrator of anatomy, and W. C. Hunt, in-
structor in microscopic anatomy and the use of the microscope. Dr. Edwin
Powell was treasurer, and the fee for the course was $20. Twenty students
attended this spring course.
The twenty-seventh annual circular appeared in 1869 with few variations
from the previous one. Dr. Holmes was announced as professor of ophthal-
mology. The following year his designation was professor of diseases of
the eye and ear.
Owing to ill health Dr. Blaney retired from the presidency in 1871. Dr.
Joseph W. Freer, the senior member of the faculty, succeeded him. At this
time Dr. Lyman was appointed to the professorship of chemistry and
pharmacy. Dr. Ingals resigned the chair of materia medica and Dr. Ethe-
ridge was elected to the position.
The course of 1871-1872 was cut short by the great fire of October 8
and 9. Students were scattered with the great army of homeless citizens
and Rush Medical College existed only as a legal entity. The site was
covered by a huge pile of brick and twisted iron in which Dr. Freer found
the half melted stand of his microscope and various pieces of chemical
apparatus, now preserved in the college.
The dauntless Chicago spirit was nowhere better exemplified than among
the faculty members of Rush. In a few days the classes were reassembled
and the course resumed. In this behalf the authorities of Cook County
Hospital tendered the use of a clinical amphitheater for a lecture room and
the Chicago Medical College invited Rush to employ its dissecting room.
Both offers were Accepted and with these facilities the courses were car-
ried on.
For a long time the fact that the college was two miles distant from Cook
County Hospital was a source of regret to the members of the faculty. It
was apparent that the time would soon come when it would be necessary
to erect a new County Hospital, as the facilities of the old one were
entirely inadequate to the needs of the fast growing city. To make the
utmost out of the large range of illustrative cases such as are offered by a
County Hospital in a big community, it was decided not to relocate and
rebuild Rush College until the new County Hospital was erected.
In the meantime the school authorities agreed to build for use during the
period of waiting a temporary structure. In this way the celebrated "col-
lege under the sidewalk" came into being. To a considerable degree it
actually was under the sidewalk, although it rose several feet above it. It
was a rude brick building with a tar root. It contained an amphitheater
and a laboratory over which was a dissecting room. It cost less than
$4,000, but it served its purpose for four years.
By 1875 the construction of a new edifice was begun at the corner of
Harrison and Wood streets, diagonally opposite the County Hospital. The
corner stone was laid with the ceremonies of the Masonic order on March
20, 1875. Grand Master Dewitt C. Cregier, afterwards mayor of Chicago,
officiated in the presence of a large assemblage. The orator of the day was
the eloquent Dr. J. Adams Allen. The new building and lot cost in the
neighborhood of $75,000. The funds were contributed largely by the mem-
bers of the faculty.
Upon the death of Dr. Freer on April 12, 1877, Dr. Allen became presi-
dent of the college. At this time Dr. Walter S. Haines was appointed pro-
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 195
fessor of chemistry and toxicology to give practically his whole time to the
college work in this department.
Until 1877 the only clinical work at the college building was that in
surgery. Dr. Gunn's Saturday afternoon surgical clinics had been par-
ticularly successful. Now came a new epoch when these additional clinics
were inaugurated :
Diseases of the nervous system, Dr. Lyman.
Diseases of the heart and lungs, Dr. Ross.
Medicine, Dr. Norman Bridge.
These clinics were held once a week throughout the year. The following
year Dr. James Nevins Hyde began his clinic on skin and venereal diseases.
In 1880 four more clinics were added to the list, one by Dr. John E.
Owens on orthopedic surgery, one on diseases of children by Dr. J. Suydam
Knox and Dr. De Laskie Miller, one on gynecology by Dr. William H.
Byford and Dr. Daniel T. Nelson and one on diseases of the eye and ear
by Dr. Edward L. Holmes. In 1882 the clinic in orthopedic surgery was
dropped from the list, Dr. Owens having resigned his chair.
After the discontinuance of this clinic there were still eight of at least an
hour each every week of the year and in eight departments of medicine
and surgery. In 1884 there was added a clinic on diseases of the throat
and nose by Dr. E. Fletcher Ingals, which was later enlarged to include
diseases of the chest. At the same time a second clinic on surgery was
begun by Dr. Gunn which Dr. Parkes, his successor, increased to three
each week. In 1890 the service in the department of skin and venereal
diseases was increased to two clinics a week of an hour each.
That dentistry is a specialty of medicine was recognized by the college
in 1882 when the teaching of dental anatomy, physiology, pathology and
surgery was begun. Dr. W. W. Airport was appointed emeritus professor
of dental pathology and surgery, and Dr. Truman W. Brophy actively to
the same chair to give a few lectures each winter on these subjects. Dr.
Eugene S. Talbot was appointed lecturer on dental anatomy and physiology
in the spring course. Clinical instruction in dentistry was given in the
Central Free Dispensary.
About this time the Chicago Dental Infirmary was established by several
members of the faculty of Rush in conjunction with the dentists. The pur-
pose was to teach the technical branches of dentistry to medical graduates
only. From this institution later was evolved the Chicago College of
Dental Surgery.
In the foundation of the Presbyterian Hospital, Rush Medical College
played a conspicuous role. Dr. Joseph Presley Ross, strongly seconded by
several members of the faculty, early advocated the establishment of such
an institution. Soon the support of all the members of the faculty was
enlisted and in furtherance of the project the college took the first steps
and expended the first money. A small lot was bought and a hospital struc-
ture planned. This undertaking was nearly completed before it was known
that it would ever pass to the control of the Presbyterian denomination.
Four of the senior members of the faculty died between 1887 and 1890
.".nd their passing was a severe loss to Rush. Dr. Gunn died on November
7, 1887, Dr. Byford on May 21, 1890, Dr. Ross in June, 1890. and Dr. Allen
in the autumn of the same year. Dr. Parkes was transferred to the chair
of surgery and the chair of anatomy was assumed by Dr. Arthur Dean
196 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
Be van. Dr. James H. Etheridge was transferred to the chair of gynecology
and Dr. D. R. Brower became professor of mental diseases, materia medica
and therapeutics in his stead. Dr. Norman Bridge, who had been for several
years professor sucessively of hygiene and of pathology and adjunct in
practice of medicine, was transferred to the chair of clinical medicine and
allied subjects.
Dr. Edward L. Holmes, who had been a teacher in the college since
1870, followed Dr. Allen in the presidency. Shortly before Dr. Nicholas
Senn had been appointed professor of the principles of surgery and surgical
pathology as a colleague of Dr. Parkes. He resigned in 1890, but on the
death of Dr. Parkes in 1891 he was appointed professor of the practice of
surgery and clinical surger)^ Dr. John B. Hamilton being at the same time
appointed professor of the principles of surgery and clinical surgery. In
1893 Dr. E. Fletcher Ingals was appointed professor of laryngology.
President Holmes' administration was vigorous and progressive. "The
impression was growing in the faculty, by the insistence of President Holmes
in particular, that the methods of teaching needed to be radically changed,"
says Dr. John Edwin Rhodes. "There must be more laboratory work, more
practical courses, more personal teaching, less didactic lecturing; and finally
more years must be spent in the college study. There must be introduced
into this medical college work more of the elements of manual training,
and the work must be graded. The impression grew to conviction and so
in half a dozen years the course of study was metamorphosed completely."
In 1893 a five-story laboratory building was erected on Harrison Street
opposite the original college building. It contained laboratories for chem-
istry, anatomy, pathology, bacteriology and materia medica. Required
laboratory courses in the various departments were introduced. In 1895
Dr. Ludvig Hektoen became professor of pathology and under him instruc-
tion in gross and microscopic pathology was developed into one of the
strongest and most popular courses.
A direct result of this progressive attitude was the high culmination of
Dr. Holmes' administration when Rush Medical College became affiliated
with the University of Chicago. There had been a brief and unprofitable
union with 'the first University of Chicago in 1874-5. In 1887 the college
became the medical department of Lake Forest University, but this rela-
tionship was merely nominal. When the University of Chicago was founded
in 1891 President William Rainey Harper had announced plans for an
institution of a more comprehensive and higher type than had previously
existed in this country. Professional schools, among them a school of medicine,
were to be included in the vast project. The conviction became general
that under the guidance of Dr. Harper one of the great universities of the
world was to be developed in Chicago.
"It was due primarily to the foresight and indomitable perseverance of
Dr. E. Fletcher Ingals that plans to link the medical school with the uni-
versity were formulated," says Professor John M. Dodson and,' as a result
of protracted negotiations between President Harper and Dr. Ingals an
understanding ultimately was reached. For the medical college the fol-
lowing took part in the final conversations:
President Edward L. Holmes and Doctors Henry M. Lyman. James H.
Etheridge, Walter S. Haines, James Nevins Hyde, E. Fletcher Ingals,
Arthur Dean F>evan, Daniel R. Brower, lohn B. Hamilton and John M.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 197
Dodson. The only faculty members absent were Dr. Norman Bridge, who
was in California, and Dr. Nicholas Senn, who was in the south on a brief
vacation. President Harper, Dr. Thomas W. Goodspeed and Dr. Albion W.
Small represented the University.
Affiliation was completed January 5, 1898, and became effective the fol-
lowing June.
Executive officers of the medical faculty appointed by the trustees were
Senior Dean, Dr. Henry M. Lyman ; Junior Dean, Dr. John M. Dodson,
and Registrar, Dr. E. Fletcher Ingals.
In 1898 Dr. Frank Billings, who had been a member of the faculty of
Northwestern University Medical School since 1882, became associated with
Rush as professor of medicine. Two years later he was elected dean of the
faculty, which position he has held ever since.
As a condition precedent to the affiliation it was stipulated by the Uni-
versity authorities that the debt of Rush Medical College be paid. The
amount was $73,000 in bonds. The sum needed to extinguish the obliga-
tion was subscribed by the .members of the faculty, Doctors Nicholas Senn
and Ephraim Ingals each giving $25,000.
In 1903 the Senn Memorial Building was erected adjoining the original
college building. It provides quarters for the Central Free Dispensary and
various clinical and research laboratories.
The Central Free Dispensary of West Chicago was organized in 1867,
under the title of the Brainard Free Dispensary, and incorporated under
its present title on April 1, 1873. At different periods for nine years it
occupied small rooms at 232 West Randolph Street, 79 West Madison
Street, 95 West Randolph Street, 136 North Sangamon Street, and 239 West
Van Buren Street.
In 1871 the Herrick Free Dispensary was founded under the auspices of
the Relief and Aid Society, to assist in relieving the destitution caused by
the recent fire. This dispensary occupied rooms on Wright Street, near
Twelfth Street, and confined its task to the care of the sick poor in the
southern portion of the West Division.
In 1872, this new dispensary, to which the Relief and Aid Society had
donated, as a permanent fund, the sum of $5,000, was united with the
Central Dispensary, under one organization. The medical boards continued
in office, each with special duties.
In 1876, the dispensary removed to quarters in the lower story of the new
Rush Medical College, corner of Harrison and Wood streets. In June, 1902,
the dispensary was transferred to Senn Hall.
The medical library at the college has been built up about a nucleus con-
sisting of the library of the late Dr. J. Adams Allen. Several libraries be-
longing to members of the faculty have come to the college after the deaths
of their owners. Among the larger ones may be mentioned those of Doctors
Charles T. Parkes, Edward L. Holmes and Christian Fenger. Many smaller
gifts have been received from various sources and the college for several
years has subscribed for most of the leading periodicals in various languages.
The library now contains approximately 23,000 volumes, 5,000 pamphlets
and 15,000 reprint?.. It is one of the large medical libraries of the country.
The Alumni Association of Rush Medical College was organized in 1879,
It has held annual meetings at the time of the college commencement am
joint banquets with the college faculty. For ten years it published its pro-
198 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
ceedings in pamphlet form and since 1904 has published a "Bulletin" several
times each year, containing items of interest to the alumni.
Under the affiliation with the University of Chicago the student spends
the two preclinical years at the University of Chicago in the Hull Biological
Laboratories. Instruction is in the hands of teachers whose time is wholly
devoted to the teaching and investigation in their respective lines. The
belief is that the student pursuing these studies in the atmosphere of an
institution devoted to scientific work cannot but gain a broader and more
thorough conception of the fundamental sciences.
The clinical branches are taught in Rush Medical College with its Cen-
tral Free Dispensary, the Presbyterian Hospital, the Home for Destitute
Crippled Children, the Cook County Hospital and the Durand Hospital of
the John McCormick Institute for Infectious Diseases. A fifth year, also
requisite for the degree of Doctor of Medicine, provides for work as an
interne or in research.
The great undertaking was graphically outlined by Dean Billings in an
announcement to the alumni of Rush Medical College under date of January
16, 1917:
"It must be a source of gratification to every alumnus of Rush College
to know that the high standards of medical teaching and the encouragement
of research at Rush Medical College during its affiliation with the University
of Chicago produced a medical condition in Chicago which is unique. I
use the word unique because when a plan for a broad and comprehensive
medical teaching in America was under discussion by the General Education
Board, Chicago was found to be the only place where such a big plan could be
carried out. This condition of medicine in Chicago was brought about by
the development of medicine at the University of Chicago, at Rush and at
the Presbyterian Hospital together with the research work done at the
John McCormick Institute for Infectious Diseases and the Otho S. A.
Sprague Memorial Institute.
''The broad and comprehensive plan for medicine in Chicago under the
administration of the University of Chicago means the development of an
undergraduate medical school of high standards at the University campus.
For many years the University of Chicago has conducted at the Hull Bio-
logical Laboratories the first two years of medical work. It is endowed
with $2,000,000 with full-time teachers to carry on the work. To complete
the undergraduate school at the university there will be erected at the
campus a hospital of 250 beds for the purpose of teaching and medical re-
search. This hospital will be known as the Albert M. Billings Hospital,
erected at the cost of $1,000,000, a gift made by a son of A. M. Billings,
C. K. G. Billings; a grandson, Albert Billings Ruddock; a son-in-law, Charles
H. Ruddock, and a nephew, Dr. Frank Billings. The hospital will be en-
dowed with $3.000,000 for the maintenance of the hospital and to furnish
the funds to pay the salaries of the full-time teachers of clinical medicine
tvho will also be the staff of the hospital.
"On the west side at Rush Medical College the old building will be re-
placed by a new laboratory and clinical building estimated to cost $300,000.
The sum for the erection of this building has been donated by Mr. and Mrs.
Frederick H. Rawson of Chicago. It will have direct communication with
the Presbyterian Hospital, which with its 440 beds will furnish the clinical
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
material of the graduate school. The graduate school will be further en-
dowed with $1,000,000, the income of which will be used in payment of
the salaries of the teachers of the graduate school, some of whom will be
members of the staff of the Presbyterian Hospital. In all probability the
heads of departments of medicine, surgery and obstetrics in the graduate
school will be full-time men and all the laboratory workers will be full-time
teachers. Necessarily the graduate school will afford an opportunity for
many qualified clinical teachers on part time and part pay.
"Contractual relations have been entered into between the University of
Chicago, Rush Medical Colege, the Presbyterian Hospital, and the Otho
S. A. Sprague Memorial Institute in the development of this big medical
plan. Necessarily the Central Free Dispensary of West Chicago will have
the same relations with the graduate school that it has always held with
Rush Medical College.
"Therefore, the plan for medicine in Chicago under the administration of
the University of Chicago contemplates a high standard institution in under-
graduate medicine, graduate medicine and clinical research. The graduate
school will offer opportunities for practitioners from anywhere in the world
to better qualify themselves for medical work of all kinds and if they are
qualified to do it, to engage in research in subjects in which they may be
interested. Practitioners young and old and research workers will find an
opportunity to better qualify themselves-, than in ordinary postgraduate
schools both for short and long periods of study. It will afford them an
opportunity to do in Chicago as good or better work than medical men have
been able to get abroad."
The finances of the various institutions forming the unified medical plan
are estimated in excess of $10,000,000. Included in this are the Hull Build-
ings at the University of Chicago, the endowment for the fundamental
branches of medicine at the University, the property and endowment of the
Presbyterian Hospital, the Otho S. A. Sprague Memorial Institute and the
John McCormick Institute for Infectious Diseases. In this sum no estimate
was placed on the property value of Rush Medical College.
To carry out the plan it was estimated by the General Education Board
a few years ago that $5,300,000 would be required for buildings and endow-
ments. This sum has been subscribed.
Owing to unsettled business and building conditions, the carrying out of
the plan has been held in abeyance, but it is believed that its realization will
take place in the near future.
200
HISTORY OF MKOICINK AND SURGKRY IN CHICAGO
(Photo by Gates)
HAHNEMANN MEDICAL COLLEGE
2811 Cottage Grove Avenue
*HAHNEMANN MEDICAL COLLEGE OF CHI-
CAGO
Abraham Lincoln, according to reports, aided substantially in the procure-
ment of the charter for Hahnemann Medical College of Chicago.
The grant was obtained in 1855. As early as 1849 the matter of the estab-
lishment of a homeopathic school was under consideration. It was not until
1852-3, however, that Dr. E. A. Guilbert of Elgin drafted a charter for the
incorporation of such an institution. The project encountered violent opposi-
tion forthwith and was not submitted to the general assembly. In the fol-
lowing biennium Dr. David S. Smith went to the state capital and, say the
chroniclers, Abraham Lincoln and J. Young Scammon materially assisted him
in persuading the legislature to adopt a measure granting corporate powers
to the Hahnemann Medical College of Chicago. The date of the charter was
February 14, 1855.
The first faculty was organized at a meeting of homeopathic physicians at
Halsey and King's pharmacy, 168 South Clark Street, on the evening of March
15, 1860. Present at this meeting were Doctors George E. Shipman, A. E.
Small, J. L. Kellogg, Nicholas F. Cooke, Gaylord D. Beebe, A. Pitney, E.
Rawson, J. Davis, S. Seymour, A. K. Boardman and Reuben Ludlam. Dr.
Shipman was chairman and Dr. Ludlam secretary of the meeting. It was de-
cided to bring the college into being under the provisions of the charter and
the following were chosen as members of the first faculty :
*Dr. Howard R. Chislett's history of Hahnemann Medical College of Chicago in Volume Two of "His-
tory of Homeopathy," edited by Dr. William Harvey King, is the basis of this record. Information con-
cerning recent years has been furnished by Dr. Chislett and Dr. Joseph P. Cobb.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 201
Alvan E. Small, M. D., dean and professor of theory and practice.
Reuben Ludlam, M. D., registrar and professor of physiology and pathol-
ogy.
George E. Shipman, M. D., professor of materia medica.
H. K. Boardman, M. D., professor of surgery.
Gaylord D. Beebe, M. D., professor of anatomy.
Nicholas F. Cooke, M. D., professor of chemistry and toxicology.
J. L. Kellogg, M. D., professor of obstetrics and gynecology.
George Payson, Esq., lecturer on medical jurisprudence.
Dr. David S. Smith, who was elected president of the first board of trustees,
had begun the practice of medicine in Chicago in 1836. As early as 1837 his
attention was called to homeopathy, to which he became a complete convert
after a careful investigation extending over a period of four or five years. Dr.
Smith was the founder and first president of the Illinois Homeopathic Asso-
ciation and during his life received all the honors that local and national so-
cieties could confer upon him. It was through Dr. Smith that the first Hahne-
mann Hospital was obtained for the benefit of the school.
Rooms over the Halsey and King pharmacy having been set apart for the
purposes of the college, the formal opening occurred in October, I860.
Twenty students were enrolled, of whom nine were in the junior class and
eleven in the senior department. The entire senior class was graduated at
Metropolitan Hall, February 14, 1861, forty persons being in the audience.
Quarters for the teaching of the early students were exceedingly primitive.
Dr. Temple S. Hoyne, who attended a part of the first lectures, has left this
description of the accommodations : "The only lecture room was about
twelve by twenty feet and was arranged to seat, when crowded, about forty
students. By encroaching upon the speaker's stand, some ten or twelve visit-
ors could be accommodated. Adjoining this very capacious lecture room was
a dispensary about eight by ten feet containing a small medicine case or dis-
pensary table and chairs for three or four patients, the usual number in at-
tendance when there were any at all. The dissecting room was a small cup-
board hole in which it was barely possible to dissect two subjects at the same
time. The whole third story of the building and the greater part of the sec-
ond were at the disposal of the faculty, but the small rooms mentioned were
partitioned off and were deemed amply sufficient to accommodate the neces-
sities of the class."
During the six years that followed its establishment the college met with
many successes, many trials and some serious changes in the group of phy-
sicians and surgeons forming its faculty. Dr. Beebe's separation from the
. school to accept a commission as surgeon in the Union Army was, however,
regarded with satisfaction, for his appointment was hailed as a victory for
those who had striven for recognition of the homeopathic school in the army.
Dr. Beebe's meritorious services were rewarded by promotion to the rank of
chief medical director of the Fourteenth Army Corps'. At the close of the war
he returned to Hahnemann, where he performed many brilliant operations
including a successful resection of four feet ten inches of the small intestine
in a woman on whom he was operating for a large umbilical hernia.
Dr. Smith, having retired from the presidency of the board of trustees in
1866, was succeeded by Dr. Small and Dr. Ludlam was elected dean.
The second home of the college was established at 1237 State Street in 1
and contained lecture rooms sufficiently large to accommodate about one hun-
202 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
dred students. It is described by Dr. Hoyne as "a dingy sort of place reached
by climbing two pairs of stairs." The dissecting room was located on the
same floor and was separated from the lecture room by a single door which
allowed the foul odors to penetrate to every part of the building. Still it was
regarded as an improvement upon the old location, the dispensary facilities
being especially improved.
The college occupied these unpretentious quarters for five years, the num-
ber of students increasing from 60 to 90 and the graduating class from 26
to 38.
Through the generosity of J. Young Scammon, Hahnemann secured its own
hospital accommodations in 1870. For this purpose Mr. Scammon donated a
group of frame buildings at 2813 Groveland Avenue under the name of Scam-
mon Hospital. Brick additions were made in 1872 and 1873, providing a sat-1
isfactory amphitheater for clinical use. This structure was partly destroyed
by fire in 1883. In its reconstruction it took the form now known as the
Nurses' Home and served as Hahnemann Hospital until 1894, the year of the
erection of the new hospital.
Having decided in 1871 that they needed a home of their own, the board of
trustees and faculty in June of that year undertook the construction of "Old
Hahnemann." The cornerstone was laid during the annual meeting of the
American Institute of Homeopathy in this city.
The structure, which was located on the site of the present college, was
ready to receive students in October of the same year. There were seventy-
nine matriculants.
During the next decade the college flourished remarkably, the total enroll-
ment in 1880 being 280. The graduation class in that year numbered 87. In-
deed, while Old Hahnemann occupied the building, the educational progress
of the institution was uninterrupted. One of the first of the western colleges
to insist upon the three-year course and one of the first to formulate the four-
year graded course, Hahnemann strictly maintained the policy of raising the
standard of medical education.
In paying tribute to those responsible for the progress thus made, Dr. How-
ard R. Chislett, sometime dean, says : "All honor to Doctors Reuben Ludlam,
George A. Hall and Temple S. Hoyne. They are all dead now, but their
memories are honored by their one-time students and we rejoice that they all
lived sufficiently long to round out their useful lives, to prove their faith in
their former students and supporters and to see their anticipations realized
in the construction of our group of modern buildings. Without the slightest
thought of belittling the earnest effort of others, the real pilot that guided
Hahnemann Medical College as it passed through its many trials was Dr.
Reuben Ludlam, its first registrar, its second dean and its third president.
"Dr. Ludlam was graduated from the medical department of the University
of Pennsylvania in 1852. Arriving in Chicago, he was at once impressed with
the efficacy of homeopathic medication in the treatment of cholera. His in-
vestigations led him to enter the new school of practice and in the following
year he became associated with Dr. D. S. Smith. To Dr. Ludlam may be
traced the initiative that resulted in the calling of the first meeting for the
organization of the college ; the resolution that pronounced the time now ripe
for the establishment of a homeopathic school; the main force and judgment
that molded the policy of the institution for the twenty-five years of his dean-
ship ; the chief influence that made for clinical instruction and the determina-
203
tion to admit women on an equal footing with men. Doctor Ludlam received
every honor the American profession could bestow upon him and will always
be remembered as a gentleman, as a scholar and as the foremost gynecologist
and editor of his day in the homeopathic ranks." •
Upon Dr. Ludlam's election to the presidency in 1891, Dr. H. B. Fellows,
who for five years had been in charge of the department of practice, was
chosen dean.
The present college building was finished in 1893. It was furnished
throughout by the alumni association. Since the new college structure has
been in existence, increased matriculation requirements and the higher stand-
ard of the four-year graded courses have naturally lessened the number of
applicants for instruction, so the growth of Hahnemann in the past twenty-
eight years has been in an educational rather than numerical sense.
In 1894 the trustees of Hahnemann Medical College incorporated the hos-
pital as a separate corporate body under the same board of trustees ; this was
done to overcome certain financial limitations in the college charter.
When Dr. Fellows relinquished the duties of dean on account of ill health,
he was succeeded by Dr. Charles H. Vilas, who had been active head of the
eye and ear department since 1881. Dr. Vilas served three years as dean and
one year as president of the board of trustees, resigning in 1900 because of ill
health.
Dr. E. Stillman Bailey had already in 1884 succeeded Dr. Hoyne as regis-
trar, a position which he held for ten years. As instructor in physiology, pro-
fessor of gynecology and registrar, Dr. Bailey did much for Hahnemann for
twenty years. At the end of this service he was elected dean of the college
faculty, a position which he occupied until overwork forced him to resign.
In 1900 he was elected a member of the board of trustees.
When Dr. Bailey resigned as registrar, Dr. Joseph P. Cobb was chosen to
succeed him, and during the six years he retained this office, and as senior
professor of physiology and pediatrics, Dr. Cobb, with Dr. E. M. Bruce, then
senior in the department of chemistry, labored faithfully and successfully for
the betterment of instruction, especially in the laboratory courses.
Upon the retirement of Dr. Vilas from the presidency in May, 1900, the
faculty united in recommending Dr. George F. Shears as president and Dr.
Howard R. Chislett as dean. Dr. Shears for many years had been secretary
of the board of trustees and senior surgeon. It was he who introduced mod-
ern methods of aseptic and antiseptic surgery into the college and hospital.
Dr. Shears, as an official, secured for Hahnemann its independence as a cor-
poration and its freedom from debt.
During the presidency of Doctor Shears a union or amalgamation of the
Chicago Homeopathic Medical College with the Hahnemann Medical College
was consummated, to take effect February 1, 1905.
On the death of Dr. Shears in 1910, Dr. Chislett was elected president and
Dr. Charles E. Kahlke was chosen dean. He served until 1913, when he was
succeeded by Dr. Joseph P. Cobb.
In the early years of his presidency Dr. Chislett demonstrated to the board
of trustees that Hahnemann College, like any other educational institutu
could not be satisfactorily conducted on a commercial basis ; that it could
do work commensurate with the educational demands if its financial returns
were limited to the students' fees.
204 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
Through these efforts the individual trustees and other friends of the
Hahnemann institutions properly financed the college for a period of .years
(1911-1917), during which the officers of the college and the dean's commit-
tee (with Dr. Charles E. Rahlke as chairman) were endeavoring to interest
the trustees in the organization of the Chicago Memorial Foundation, having
as its purpose the taking over of the Hahnemann interests and developing
them upon a broader non-sectarian basis, and the raising of funds for a new
hospital.
These plans were well under way and by 1914 a sufficient amount of money
had been pledged to build two of the three wings of the new hospital, when
the World War convinced the trustees that the time was not propitious for
expansion. It was therefore decided to broaden the charter of the Hahne-
mann Hospital, increasing the board of trustees from ten to twenty members
and giving the corporation the right "to purchase, erect, own, conduct and
operate hospitals, schools, colleges and universities, one of which colleges
shall be a medical college."
It was under this new charter that Hahnemann Medical College was taken
over by the hospital corporation and conducted as one of the educational units
of the hospital. By this action the necessity of a president of the college cor-
poration ceased and Dr. Chislett's responsibilities as president were assumed
by Mr. John J. Mitchell, president of the hospital board, and Dr. Joseph P.
Cobb, dean of the college. This action was taken in 1915.
Under the deanship of Dr. Cobb the funds of the Chicago Memorial Foun-
dation were materially increased, an important addition being the income
from a living alumni endowment fund.
In 1920 John Charles Blake, B. S., Ph. D., who for six years had been pro-
fessor in charge of the department of chemistry, was elected registrar and on
February 1, 1921, succeeded Dr. Cobb as dean of the faculty.
In 1919 the faculty and board of trustees adopted the educational policy
that the work required of all students should embrace all of the well recog-
nized principles of medicine, including a complete course in homeopathy.
Beginning with the session of 1921-22, Hahnemann Medical College, rees-
tablished under its own charter, with Dr. Cobb as president and Dr. Blake as
dean, adopted the policy that every course dealing with the principles of medi-
cine must be accompanied by original research tending to elucidate and ex-
tend the principles involved.
With the reestablishment of the college under its own board of trustees, the
relationship of the college to the alumni, and to the members of the state so-
ciety was emphasized. Their responsibility was also pointed out and ac-
cepted by them to the extent that they have become important factors in the
financial support of the institution.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
205
(Photo by Gates)
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY MEDICAL SCHOOL
2421 South Dearborn Street
* N O R T H W E S T E R N UNIVERSITY
MEDICAL SCHOOL .
First in the United States to apply the principles of scientific pedagogy \
to the teaching of medicine and surgery.
This is the high distinction belonging to Northwestern University Medical
School, whose aggressive founders were the fathers of modern instructional /
methods in medical institutions of learning. /
In the early half of the nineteenth century there were thirty-six medical
colleges in the country. None maintained a standard of preliminary educa-
tion for beginning the study of medicine or entering the medical school. No
laboratory work was required except the dissection of a part of the human
body. Attendance on clinical instruction was not obligatory upon the stu-
dent.
The college faculties generally consisted of six or seven professors and a
demonstrator of anatomy. The instruction was almost wholly by didactic
lectures given at the rate of five or six a day to all the students, in a single
class, without any consecutive order by which the more elementary branches
might be attended the first year and the more practical the second year. In
that way all the then recognized branches of medicine were treated each
year for a period of from twelve to sixteen weeks, which was recognized as
an annual college term.
These anomalous conditions evoked numerous and severe criticisms, both
in the meetings of medical societies and in the medical journals. In the
annual meeting of the New York State Medical Society, February, 1844,
Dr. N. S. Davis, then a young delegate from the Broome County Medical
Society, presented resolutions demanding the adoption of a fair standard of
general education before commencing the study of medicine, the lengthening
of annual medical college terms to six months, attendance upon three such
* Data for this history was obtained mainlv from Volume Three of "Northwestern University, A History
— 1855-1905," edited by Arthur Herbert Wilde, Ph. D., and published in 1905. Contained in this are
"Earlier History of the Medical School," by Dr. N. S. Davis; "Later History of the Medical School,"
by Dr. N. S. Davis, IT, and a sketch of the laboratories by Dr. John H. Long. Information concerning
(lie work in recent years was kindly furnished by Dr. F. R. Zeit, professor of pathology.
206 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
terms and the grading of the curriculum in such a manner that the student
would be able to confine his attention to a limited number of branches each
year.
It was the earnest and persistent discussion of these resolutions, and the
principles they involved, in the annual meetings of the New York State
Medical Society in 1844 and 1845 that resulted in the call for a national
convention of delegates from all the regular medical societies, medical col-
leges and hospitals in this country to be held in May, 1846, in the city of New
York. Debate upon educational reforms thus precipitated by Dr. Davis
was continued at this conclave and it eventuated in the final organization of
the American Medical Association at Philadelphia in May, 1847. The prime
purpose of the national association was to elevate and systematize medical
education by inducing the medical schools in all the states to act in concert.
However, although this purpose was repeatedly and forcefully emphasized at
succeeding meetings of the national body, not one of the medical schools
then existing in this country attempted to put this progressive program into
practice.
While attending the third annual meeting of the American Medical Asso-
ciation at Boston in 1849, Dr. Davis was invited to come to Chicago as pro-
fessor of physiology and pathology in Rush Medical College. Arriving in
Chicago in the autumn of that year, Dr. Davis entered upon his new duties.
From the beginning of his incumbency he continually urged adoption of a
more thorough and efficient system of medical education by Rush Medical
College without waiting longer for other colleges to act first. His views
were vigorously supported by Doctors Edmund Andrews and Hosmer A.
Johnson, who were members of the faculty of Rush.
However, Dr. Daniel Brainard, president, and a majority of the faculty
and trustees overruled the insurgents and refused to make any changes in
the direction desired.
At this time Lind University, recently established in a building at the
northwest corner of Randolph and Market streets, was seeking affiliation with
a medical school. A concertium was proposed to Doctors Johnson, Andrews,
Ralph N. Isham and David Rutter that included the promise to co-operate
in the development of scholastic plans in consonance with the policy of the
American Medical Association. The proffer was accepted by Dr. Johnson
and his associates, who immediately invited Doctors N. S. Davis and Wil-
liam H. Byford of Rush Medical College faculty to join them in founding the
medical department of Lind University. Doctors Davis and Byford there-
upon resigned their professorships and the undertaking was begun.
The faculty, as first organized and approved by the board of trustees of
Lind University, was constituted as follows:
Titus Deville, M. D., professor of descriptive anatomy.
John H. Hollister, M. D., professor of physiology and histology.
F. Mahla, M. D., professor of inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry and
toxicology.
Hosmer A. Johnson, M. D., professor of materia medica and therapeutics.
M. R. Taylor, M. D., professor of general pathology.
Ralph N. Isham, M. D., professor of surgical anatomy.
Edmund Andrews, M. D., professor of principles and practice of surgery.
Nathan S. Davis, M. D., professor of principles and practice of medicine.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 207
William H. Byford, M. D., professor of obstetrics and diseases of women.
Henry G. Spofford, Esq., professor of medical jurisprudence.
David Rutter, M. D., emeritus professor of obstetrics.
Horace Wardner, M. D., demonstrator of anatomy.
The instruction given by the five first named professors, with dissections
and laboratory work, constituted the junior course and that given by the
remaining members of the faculty, with clinical instructions, the senior
course. Students who were in the first half of the three years of the medical
curriculum were required to attend the junior course and those in the second
half the senior course.
The first annual college term began October 9, 1859, with an introductory
lecture by Dr. Davis, who said, among other things: "Considerations which
have induced the faculty to undertake the task of establishing this institu-
tion may all be included in the two following propositions: First, the very
liberal offer of the board of trustees of Lind University to furnish all the
needed accommodations for a medical department, with no other restrictions
than that the plan of instruction adopted should be such as would most
effectually promote the educational interests of the profession without ref-
erence to established customs and usages. Second, a sincere desire on the
part of the faculty to put into practical operation a system of medical college
instruction more in accordance with sound educational principles and better
adapted to the present state of science and art of medicine than that which
has been so long adhered to by the medical schools of the country."
The number of matriculants for the first college term was thirty-three, of
whom nineteen were juniors and fourteen seniors who had completed their
first courses in some other medical school. The rooms that had been pro-
vided in the Lind Block consisted of two convenient and well lighted lecture
halls, a laboratory, a museum, a room for practical anatomy, a library and
faculty room. The facilities for clinical instruction in the departments of
practical medicine, surgery, gynecology and pediatrics were furnished by
Mercy Hospital, an orphan asylum adjoining the hospital and a free dis-
pensary for the poor in one of the rooms ofLthe medical school.
For four years the faculty of the medical school efficiently sustained its
organization for better preliminary education, longer annual college terms,
properly graded curriculum and direct clinical instruction in both hospital
and dispensary. The number of matriculants had increased from thirty-
three in the first year to seventy-nine the fourth year and the temporary
rooms had become inadequate for their accommodation. The time had also
come when the trustees of Lind University had promised to have a new and
adequate building ready for the permanent accommodation of the medical
department. But the disturbing influences of the civil war and the unexX
pected financial failure of Sylvester Lind, who had promised the trustees an *
endowment of $100,000 and in whose honor the university had been named,
had rendered the trustees unable to fulfill that part of the contract with the
medical faculty.
This contretemps caused the trustees of Lind University to change the
name of the corporation to that of Lake Forest University and to release /
the medical faculty from all further obligations to remain a department of/
that institution.
208 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
Being thus thrown upon their own resources, the members of the med-
ical faculty soon after the close of the college term of 1862-63 decided to
continue the medical school as an independent institution and issued their
annual announcement under the name of the Chicago Medical College, but
without any change in the membership of the faculty or the system of in-
struction.
A lot was purchased at the corner of State Street and Twenty-second
Street (then Ringgold 1'lace) and a new college building was erected in
time for the opening of the college term in October, 1863. In the meantime
the usual summer courses of clinical and didactic instructions were con-
tinued for the benefit of a considerable class of students.
Dr. Davis, in inaugurating the term of 1863, said, "Four years have now
elapsed since this institution, organized in the manner already indicated,
began its career in rooms temporarily fitted up, not, as facetiously remarked
by an enemy of the enterprise, in the loft of a warehouse, but on the third
and fourth floors of an elegant block of buildings on Market Street. The
number of students attending the first annual lecture term was thirty-three ;
the second, fifty-four; the third, sixty-three; and the fourth, eighty-one.
Thus in the short period of four years the school presented a larger class
than the old and justly celebrated medical departments of Yale and Dart-
mouth and equal to the classes in one-fourth of the medical schools in
the Union."
As an independent educational institution the Chicago Medical College
was incorporated April 26, 1864, the following members of the faculty
being made to constitute the board of trustees :
Doctors James S. Jewell, Hosmer A. Johnson, John H. Hollister, Henry
Wing, F. Mahla, Edmund Andrews, Ralph N. Isham, William H. Byford,
Nathan S. Davis and Mills O. Heydock.
Dr. Hosmer A. Johnson was elected president and Edmund Andrews
secretary of the board of trustees. Dr. Davis was choseri dean of the
4'aculty.
In 1865 upon the resignation of Dr. Henry Wing from the chair of materia
medica, Dr. Heydock succeeded' him. Dr. J. M. Woodworth became dem-
onstrator of anatomy. In 1866 Dr. Johnson resigned from his .professorship
because of ill health and Dr. Hollister was transferred to the chair of general
pathology and public hygiene. The next year Dr. Mahla resigned from
the chair of chemistry and J. E. Davies was appointed in his. place. In 1868
Professor Davies resigned and Dr. C. Gilbert \Vheeler was made professor
of chemistry. During this year Dr. Joseph S. Hildreth gave a course of
lectures on ophthalmology and otology and Dr. Thomas Bevan was appointed
to the newly created chair of public hygiene.
In 1869, Dr. Jewell having resigned, Dr. H. W. Boyd was made professor
of anatomy. Dr. Edward O. F. Roler was made professor of obstetrics and
diseases of children. Dr. J. S. Sherman, was chosen adjunct professor of
surgery and Dr. Thomas S. Bond demonstrator of anatomy, Dr. Woodworth
having resigned. Later in the year Professor Wheeler resigned and Dr.
N. Gray Bartlett was made professor of inorganic chemistry. Dr. H. P.
Merriman was chosen professor of organic chemistry and toxicology. A
chair of ophthalmology and otology was also created and Dr. Samuel J.
Jones was appointed to it. Upon the resignation of Dr. Heydock, Dr.
HISTORY OF MKOICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
William E. Ouine was made professor of materia meclica and therapeutics.
The latter served as secretary of the college for thirteen years. ^
In this year, 1869, the Chicago Medical College became the medical depart- )
ment of Northwestern University, the college still holding title to its prop-
erty and managing its finances. However, the University granted the degree
of Doctor of Medicine to those recommended by the faculty of the medical /
college. ,x
The University at this time gave the college $15,000 toward a new col-
lege building and promised $1,000 annually to apply upon the salary of the
professor of chemistry. Students in the college of liberal arts were per-
mitted to take courses in chemistry in the medical school if they so desired.
The college for the next twenty years was known as Chicago Medical C'ol^X
lege, the Medical Department of Northwestern University. J
In 1870 the college moved from its building in State Street to the comer
of Twenty-sixth Street and Prairie Avenue. It adjoined Mercy Hospital
and about this time all the professors teaching practical branches began to
give clinical instruction in their specialties in Mercy Hospital or in the
dispensary in the college building.
At intervals in the next twenty years the following departments of instruc-
tion were created : gynecology, nervous and mental diseases, histology,
laryngology and rhinology, pediatrics, physical diagnosis and dermatology.
The department of materia medica and therapeutics Avas abolished and one
of pharmacology was substituted.
In 1890 Mercy Hospital needed the ground upon which the college stood
for extensive additions. At the same time the college required new build-
ings to accommodate its laboratories and its growing dispensary.
By the aid of William Deering land was purchased at the corner of
Twenty-fifth and Dearborn streets. The corner half of this was set aside
for Wesley Hospital. The remainder was to be the site of buildings for
the medical, dental and pharmacy schools of the university. Buildings were
erected on this land in 1892 and were first used in the college year of 1893-4.
These buildings are the present home of the college, but gradually they
have been completely occupied by the medical department. The portion
provided for the dental school was first taken by the medical school and in
1901 the portion occupied by the pharmacy school also was occupied.
In 1890 closer union with Northwestern University was effected. All the
property of the medical school was given to the University in trust for
the medical department and it was agreed that all money earned by the
medical school should be expended upon it and that all additions to the
faculty or removals from it should be made by the trustees of the University
upon the recommendation of an executive committee of the faculty. The
name was changed to Northwestern University Medical School, and since
that time the medical department has been an integral part of the University.
In 1890 four years of medical study was made obligatory. At the sameN
time the college year was lengthened to seven months and in 1894 it was j
made eight months. The first practical, systematic and required courses^/
in clinical laboratory methods were inaugurated in 1899 by Dr. F. R. Zeit.
These were the first courses of the kind given in any medical school in
the United States.
The year 1901 was marked by the accession of Dr. John B. Murphy to
the faculty as professor of surgery. He held this position until 1905, when
210 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
he joined the faculty of Rush Medical College, returning in 1908 to North-
western, where he remained until his death in 1916.
In 1902 Dr. N. S. Davis, II, became dean of the faculty, and in 1904 Dr.
Arthur R. Edwards was made secretary. Three years later Dr. Edwards
was elected dean and held the position for nine years.
The school was enriched in 1911 by a gift of $250,000 by Mr. James A.
Patten to advance research medicine and investigation along laboratory and
clinical lines. Mr. Patten also established a fund of $50,000 for four re-
search fellowships yielding $600 each. Professor Arthur I. Kendall, who
established the first laboratory in the Panama Canal Zone and whose studies
on chemical bacteriology had received world-wide recognition, was secured
from Harvard University as professor of bacteriology and to direct the work
established under the Patten Foundation.
At this time a rule was put into effect requiring two years of college
work for admission to the medical school. This requirement resulted in
a marked reduction in students from 1912 to 1915.
A second large gift to the medical school came in 1914, when Mr. James
Deering gave $1,000,000 for clinical teaching work in Wesley Memorial
Hospital. This gift placed control of the hospital under the supervision of
the faculty of the medical school, as was contracted in the original agree-
ment between the hospital and the school.
The arrangement virtually makes Wesley Hospital a "University hos-
pital," in which the clinicians of the school and the laboratory men are
nominated by the university trustees as members of the hospital staff, thus
controlling hospital teaching and charity service. Under this plan the stu-
dent is educated to carry on Observations and treatment under the guidance
of the teachers of the medical school and he can command the expert aid
of the pathologist, bacteriologist, chemist, physiologist and anatomist to
unravel obscure problems.
At the beginning of 1915 a fifth year was added to the course. Under
the rule a student, after completing the four-year course, must serve a year
as interne or in research work before being awarded his medical degree.
Upon the resignation of Dr. Edwards as dean in September, 1916, Pro-
fessor Kendall was appointed acting dean. Later he was made dean, the
position he now holds.
Under Dean Kendall there has been a reorganization of the divisional
courses of instruction, securing more effective administration and more
efficient teaching and systematic progressive instruction in all departments.
He also brought about a reorganization of personnel and methods of instruc-
tion in the clinical dispensaries and more logical relations between didactic
instruction and practical application in the clinical subjects.
The courses of the first two years were rearranged with a view to
improved sequence of subjects. A student faculty council was inaugurated
to confer upon matters of mutual interest to student and instructor.
The medical department of the United States Army controlled the school
from October 1, 1918, to December 21, 1918. Of the 289 students enrolled,
223 were inducted into the Students' Army Training Corps and 24 into the
Naval Reserve Force. Of 132 faculty members, 80 were commissioned in
the Army and Navy Medical Corps. By the beginning of the second tri-
mester in 1918 a sufficient number of teachers had been relieved from duty
to permit of a more flexible program for the remainder of the school year.
211
In the post-war period of 1918 Dean Kendall was chosen head of a com-
mission of the Rockefeller Foundation to Ecuador to study yellow fever in
and about the seaport city of Guayaquil. Dr. Charles A. Elliott, professor
of medicine, and Mr. H. E. Redenbaugh of the department of chemistry also
became members of this commission, which, with Dr. Noguchi of the Rocke-
feller Institute, discovered the etiology of yellow fever.
The laboratory work of the school has ever been an important feature.
From available records it appears that the first regular laboratory course
was given in 1868. This was initiated through the opening of a laboratory
of practical and analytical chemistry, "both for the instruction of students
and performance of all kinds of work usually accomplished in such labora-
tories." Only the didactic course was required, the laboratory course being
optional, but "urgently recommended."
This course was under the direction of Dr. C. Gilbert Wheeler, who was
succeeded in 1870 by Dr. N. Gray Bartlett. Others who served as professors
of chemistry in the early years were Doctors Walter S. Haines and Marcus P.
Hatfield.
In 1881 Dr. John H. Long was engaged to teach inorganic chemistry.
Two years later he was made professor of chemistry, a position he held
until his death in June, 1918.
The first regular laboratory work in histology was begun in 1877-78 under
the direction of Dr. Lester Curtis and was given through a course of six
weeks. Little laboratory work in physiology, bacteriology and pathology
was done in the early years and it was not until the opening of the present
building in 1893 that ample provision was made for the needs of these
departments. Since that time the work in all of these departments has been
developed, keeping step with scientific progress.
BENNETT MEDICAL COLLEGE .
Eclecticism was to the fore in Chicago in 1868, when the Bennett College J
of Eclectic Medicine and Surgery was organized. The prime movers in the-/
organization were Doctors H. D. Garrison, A. L. Clark, H. K. Whitford,
J. F. Cook and H. C. French.
For the first course of lectures rooms were secured on Kinzie Street, near
the corner of LaSalle Street. The inaugural address was given by Dr. J. F.
Cook on the evening of November 1, 1868, and the course of lectures began
the next day. Nine men and one woman were graduated at the end of the
first session.
A charter was obtained from the legislature on March 25, 1869. Dr. L. S.
Major was chosen as the first president of the board of trustees and held this
position until 1872, when Dr. A. L. Clark was elected president, continuing
as such for more than thirty years.
During the summer of 1869 the college obtained quarters at 180 East
Washington Street. \Vhen this building was consumed by the great fire of
1871, temporary quarters were obtained at the southeast corner of Twenty-
second and State Streets and a month later the entire belongings of the col-
lege were moved to 461 South Clark Street. The year 1875 found the college
located at 511 and 513 State street, where it remained until 1889, when i
was removed to the corner of Ada and Fulton streets in order to have better
clinical facilities for the study of medicine. It was in this latter year that
212 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
the Cook County Commissioners first appointed practitioners of the eclectic
school to the attending staff of Cook County Hospital. With this followed
the appointment of students who had graduated from the Bennett College
of Eclectic Medicine and Surgery as internes.
In 1907 the college was changed from an eclectic to a regular school and
its name was changed to the Bennett Medical College. Three years later
the Illinois Medical College and Reliance Medical College were consolidated
with it. At this time it became the Medical Department of Loyola Uni-
versity. In 1915 the college was transferred to Loyola University and
formed the Loyola University School of Medicine.
* N O R T H W E S T E R N U N I V E R S I T Y
WOMAN'S MEDICAL SCHOOL
Refusal of local medical colleges to admit women as students led to the
foundation of the Woman's Medical College, August 2, 1870.
In 1852 Emily Blackwell attended a course of lectures in Rush Medical Col-
lege, whereupon, according to the late Dr. Charles Warrington Earle, the
Illinois State Medical Society, then saturated with the prevailing prejudices
against female medical education, censured Rush Medical College. Emily
Blackwell was denied admission to the second-year course and was forced to
go elsewhere.
In 1865 Dr. Mary H. Thompson, who had taken an active part in founding
the Hospital for Women and Children, invoked the aid of Dr. William Heath
Byford in the matter of procuring for women admission to the lectures of the
Chicago Medical College, now Northwestern University Medical School; Dr.
Byford, a member of the faculty of Chicago Medical College, cordially gave
his support and through his efforts the college consented to admit women.
Eonr women, one of whom was Dr. Thompson, matriculated in accordance
with this decree, several other applicants having decided in the meantime to
proceed to the Pennsylvania Medical College. Dr. Thompson herself was
granted a diploma after some hesitancy and warm discussion about the pro-
priety of bestowing a degree upon a woman. The following year women
were denied admission.
In these circumstances Dr. Byford suggested the foundation of the Wo-
man's Hospital Medical College. His plan having been approved, he called
a meeting in his office August 2, 1870. Present at this gathering were Doc-
tors Byford, Thompson, Eugene Marguerat, Roswell G. Bogue, Norman
Bridge, Charles Warrington Earle, Addison H. Foster and Thomas D. Fitch.
It was decided forthwith to establish a woman's medical college and that same
night a faculty was formed, in part composed of the persons present and Dr.
William Godfrey Dyas.
By October, 1870, the faculty was completed and a home provided. The
institution was founded under the name of the Woman's Hospital Medical
College. Dr. Byford was the president.
The first regular course of lectures began with seventeen students and was
given in the Women's and Children's Hospital, then located at 402 North
Clark Street. The course closed in 1871. three women having received their
diplomas.
*Data for this history was ohtained from "The Woman's Medical School," bv Dr. Eliza Hannah
Root in Volume Four of "Northwestern University, A History— 1855 to 1905," edited by Arthur Her-
bert Wilde, Ph. D.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 213
Fifteen students attended a spring course from April 1 to July 1, 1871. The
second session began October 3, 1871, in quarters at 3 North Clark Street, the
faculty being as follows: Doctors William Heath Byford, president of the
faculty and professor of clinical surgery of women; William Godfrey Dyas,
professor of theory and practice of medicine; M. A. Fisher, professor emeritus
of surgery; Roswell G. Bogue, professor of surgery; Thomas D. Fitch, pro-
fessor of obstetrics; Charles Warrington Earle, professor of physiology;
Charles G. Smith, professor of diseases of children ; Mary H. Thompson, pro-
fessor of hygiene and clinical obstetrics and diseases of women; Samuel C.
Blake, professor of diseases of the mind and nervous system ; Gerhard C. Pa-
oli. professor of materia medica and therapeutics; Samuel A. McWilliams,
professor of anatomy; Norman Bridge, professor of pathology; Addison H.
Foster, professor of surgical anatomy and operative surgery; Samuel Cole,
professor of ophthalmology and otology ; P. S. MacDonald, professor of anat-
omy; and M. Delafontaine, Ph. D., professor of chemistry.
The great fire of 1871 swept away the college and hospital with all their
tangible belongings. But, although three-fourths of the faculty had lost
their homes, their offices and their libraries, the members convened on
October 10, amid the smoking ruins of the city and decided that the college
should be continued. The students were notified and lectures were resumed
on the west side in a dwelling at 341 West Adams Street. The hospital
was re-established in another residence at 600 West Adams Street. To this
the college was again soon moved.
"The little barn" became the quarters of the college in 1872. This barn
was of mean proportions and was located in the rear of the lot occupied
by the hospital at Adams and Paulina streets. Enough money was expended
upon this shabby old barn to make it fairly comfortable. On the first floor
was a small lecture room and museum. The second floor was used for an
anatomical laboratory.
Five classes were graduated from "the little barn," many members of
which gained honorable distinction in the medical profession. Among them
were Doctors Rosa Engert, Sarah Hackett Stevenson, Margaret E. Holland,
Lucinda Corr, Edith A. Root, Margaret Caldwell and Harriet E. Garrison.
"The little barn" began to be irksome as early as 1873, and many of the
students and members of the faculty demanded a better equipped college.
Union with Northwestern University was suggested as a way out of the
difficulty. A committee was appointed to negotiate with Northwestern, but
nothing ever came of the conversations. A faction of the medical faculty
earnestly advocated a new building. During the year 1875, there were
several resignations from the teaching force. The office of corresponding
secretary was created and Dr. Mary H. Thompson was named1 to fill
the position. At the same time Dr. Sarah Hackett Stevenson was elected
to the chair of physiology.
It was at this time that Dr. David W. Graham became connected with
the college as demonstrator of anatomy. Two years later he became pro-
fessor of anatomy and later professor of surgery. This position he held until
1898. Throughout his connection with the college, Dr. Graham was most
active in its affairs and its councils.
The new building remained a matter of prime importance in the minds
of those who strongly favored the measure, while others as strongly opposed
it, believing it to be an unwarrantable undertaking. In March, 1877, the
214 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
situation became desperate. Funds were low and the number of students
had fallen off, owing to dissensions in the faculty and the half-hearted
interest that was taken in the teaching.
At this juncture a committee was appointed consisting of Doctors Byford,
Dyas and John Bartlett, to investigate the institution in all its bearings upon
medical instruction. The committee reported that it was indispensable to
the future progress of the school to secure a better building, better and
more apparatus, and better attendance to duty on the part of the faculty.
Followed then, a series of fruitless negotiations until March 27, 1877, when
Dr. Byford so vigorously criticized the anomalies existing in the college
that a motion prevailed, calling upon every member of the faculty, except
those on the committee, to resign. Dr. Dyas vacated the chair, which was
now assumed by the chairman of the committee on reorganization.
The faculty as reorganized consisted of Doctors William Heath Byford,
president and professor of obstetrics ; Thomas D. Fitch, secretary and pro-
fessor of gynecology ; Charles Warrington Earle, treasurer and professor
of diseases of children ; Isaac Newton Danforth, professor of pathology;
John E. Owens, professor of surgery ; Henry M. Lyman, professor of theory
and practice of medicine; Daniel Roberts Brower, professor of materia
medica and therapeutics and nervous diseases ; Sarah Hackett Stevenson,
corresponding secretary and professor of physiology ; David Wilson Graham,
professor of anatomy and Plymon S. Hayes, professor of chemistry.
Dr. Mary H. Thompson refused to accept a proffered place on the faculty.
The new faculty began business with ten dollars in the treasury. Forth-
with the members organized a stock company in June, 1877, and incor-
porated under the name of the Woman's Medical College of Chicago. They
severed all organic connection with the hospital and purchased a residence
at 337 and 339 South Lincoln Street. This building was remodeled so as
to comprise two amphitheaters, an anatomical laboratory and a chemical
laboratory. The equipment now placed the Woman's Medical College among
the recognized schools of medicine. Classes doubled in size, harmony pre-
vailed and the school prospered.
The increase in requirements and the growing demand for better oppor-
tunities soon made it necessary to erect a new and larger building, which
was completed in 1890. The old building was remodeled for laboratory and
dispensary purposes and was connected directly with the new one.
The new building had two amphitheaters, each with a seating capacity
of 150, new laboratories and additional conveniences. From a despised
and impoverished institution, the Woman's Medical College had grown into
a well-equipped school, with valuable property holdings, and its earnings
provided for all incidental and running expenses and a fair dividend on
the money expended.
With the change that had taken place in public sentiment concerning
the admission of women to higher institutions of learning and with the
high standing which, the school itself had attained, it now seemed desirable
on the part of Northwestern University and on the part of the college, that
the two should become allied. In 1892, the college was made a part of the
university and assumed the name of Northwestern University Woman's
Medical School, to be conducted as a regular school of medicine for the
education of women only.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 215
Dr. Byford served the college as president until his death on May 21,
1890, when he was succeeded by Dr. Charles Warrington Earle. When the
college was merged with the university, Dr. Earle was made dean of the
faculty by the university trustees and served in this capacity until his
death in 1893.
After the death of Dr. Earle, Dr. Isaac N. Danforth was appointed dean
and continued in office until 1899, when he resigned. Dr. Danforth was
succeeded by Dr. Marie Josepha Mergler, who held office until her death,
May 18, 1901. Dr. Eliza H. Root, a member of the class of 1882, was
appointed dean by the university trustees and went out of office with the
closing of the school in 1902. The principal cause that led to the closing
of the school was the fact that for several years it had failed to pay expenses,
and the officials of Northwestern University felt that to continue it as a
separate department entailed too much of a drain upon university funds.
A total of 575 women was graduated from the school, among them some
fifty medical missionaries who pursued careers in India, China, Japan, Korea,
Persia, Africa, Mexico, Alaska and at home. The first woman sent out
was Dr. Lettie Mason, who went to China as a representative of the
Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
After her return from China she became the wife of Dr. William E. Quine.
CHICAGO HOMEOPATHIC MEDICAL COLLEGE
Pledging themselves to "a more thorough training and a much higher
standard of requirement both for entrance and for graduation," a group of
doctors withdrew from Hahnemann Medical College in the spring of 1876'
and organized the Chicago Homeopathic Medical College.
In this coterie were Doctors J. S. Mitchell, S. P. Hedges, A. G. Beebe,
Charles Adams, Willis Danforth, R. N. Foster, W. H. Woodyatt, E. M. Hale,
E. H. Pratt, J. R. Kippax, and N. B. Delamater. Associated with them were
Doctors J. W. Streeter, A. W. Woodward, R. N. Tooker and Romyn Hitch-
cock.
Sanction to the movement was given by Doctors G. E. Shipman, H. P.
Gatchell, Rodney Welch and Leonard Pratt who, by reason of previous
service with virtually the same faculty, were made emeritus professors.
Officers of the new college were J. S. Mitchell, president; Charles Adams,
secretary ; W. H. Woodyatt, treasurer ; A. W. Woodward, business manager.
The first course opened October 4, 1876, in the building formerly occupied
by the Academy of Design at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Van Buren
Street. Clinical instruction was provided in a hospital fitted up in a part
of the structure. There were 45 matriculants in the first class, 15 of whom
were graduated the following March.
In the following years the size of the classes continued to increase to the
satisfaction of the officers and members of the faculty.
In 1880, however, came a crisis in the history of the school, for it was found
that the expense of furnishing a higher education was far greater than the
income from the students. In the spring of 1881 so great was the dis-
couragement of the faculty that its members seriously considered a proposal
to give up the work upon which they had started with much promise.
Directly in the face of this gloomy situation Dr. N. B. Delamater, who had
been elected business manager in 1879, boldly presented plans for a new
building directly opposite Cook County Hospital, and so energetic was Dr.
216 HISTORY OF MEUJCJNE AND SUKCKUY i.\ CHICAGO
Delamater's leadership that he not only purchased the site himself, but saw
to it that the new college edifice was built and ready for occupancy in the
fall of 1881. In connection with this project Dr. Delamater had promised
that he would secure the introduction of homeopathy into Cook County Hos-
pital. He promptly made good.
In 1881 Dr. J. R. Kippax was elected corresponding secretary and Dr. J.
F. Buffum was made treasurer.
In 1883 Dr. R. N. Foster was elected president; Dr. R. N. Tooker, vice
president ; Dr. A. W. Woodward, treasurer, and Dr. A. G. Beebe, business
manager.
In 1884 Dr J. S. Mitchell was again elected president; Dr. F. H. Pratt, vice
president; Dr. Kippax, secretary; Dr. Woodward, treasurer, and Dr. Buffum,
business manager.
In 1885 Dr. L. C. Grosvenor was elected treasurer, the other officers
remaining the same. After this year no changes were made in the roster of
officers until 1897, when, on account of Dr. Grosvenor's health, Dr. A. G.
Beebe was elected treasurer.
In. 1894 the Chicago Homeopathic Hospital was erected on ground imme-
diately adjoining the college building. It contained fifty beds, most of the
first floor being utilized for laboratory purposes.
Great loss was suffered by the college when President J. S. Mitchell died
in 1899. He had held office almost continuously from the time when the
college was founded.
"It was through his wise and judicious administration," wrote Dr. Allen
C. Cowperthwaite, "that harmony in the faculty was maintained and the
highest excellence in teaching was secured."
Dr. Kippax was unanimously elected to succeed Dr. Mitchell in the pres-
idency. In 1901 Dr. Kippax, on account of his health, refused re-election
and Dr. Cowperthwaite was elected president and Dr. W. M. Stearns, secre-
tary.
Notwithstanding the recognized high standing of the college and the good
work it was accomplishing in the cause of higher education, there was a con-
stant undercurrent of feeling that perhaps it was not wise and for the best
interest of homeopathy that two colleges working along the same lines
should exist in the same city. This sentiment finally crystallized and on
January 1, 1905, the combined faculties and classes began work under the
name of the Hahnemann Medical College of Chicago in the building of that
institution.
"Thus ended/' wrote Dr. Cowperthwaite, "the existence and work of the
Chicago Homeopathic Medical College, which for twenty-eight years had
contributed a large share to the history of homeopathy in this country and
especially in the west. During all this time the college never had varied in
keeping up a high standard of scientific teaching and thorough loyalty to the
principles of Hahnemann."
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURC.KRY TN CHICAGO
217
iiti
II iTijTLlI
II j IIS
II I fl^v
(Photo by Gates)
COLLEGE OF MEDICINE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
Congress and Honore Streets
"COLLEGE OF MEDICINE OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
Medical department of one of the most completely equipped and liberally
financed state universities in the nation.
Theater for the teaching activities of some of the most eminent surgeons
and medical practitioners.
A pioneer in the advancement of medical education, especially in that it
was one of the first among the medical colleges of the west to inaugurate
extensive laboratory teaching.
Possessor, soon, of one of the broadest clinical fields in the country.
An appraisal of the College of Medicine of the University of Illinois,
formerly the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Chicago, would include
those factors.
Plans for the establishment of a new medical college on the west side
adjacent to the county hospital were formulated by Dr. Charles Warrington
Earle as early as 1876, but it was not until May 4, 1881, that a conference
was held at which definite arrangements were made to launch the project.
Present at this meeting were Doctors A. Reeves Jackson, Charles Warring-
ton F.arle, Leonard St. John, Samuel A. McWilliams and Daniel Atkinson
King Steele. The consensus was that the time had come to meet the
demand of the medical profession generally for a more thorough and prac-
tical plan of college instruction than had theretofore been usual among the
medical colleges of the country.
*The following history has been compiled from various sources. Chief among these are separate histories
of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Chicago, prepared l>y Doctors William K. Ouine and D. A. K.
Steele and assembled by Dr. William Allen 1'usey. Further information was given by Doctors Edward
Louis Heintz and Charles Davison. The history of the College in recent years is based upon a sketch by-
Dean Albert C. Kycleshymer. Valuable information was obtained from a history of the institution written
by Dr. John M. Kra^a. '
218 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
In all other departments of learning it was deemed necessary so to arrange
the subjects of study that the pupil was led systematically from those of an
elementary and fundamental character to the more advanced branches. In
medicine, however, a science in which accuracy and completeness of attain-
ment on the part of its students involved more important interests than
any other, this reasonable and philosophic system was, for the most part,
ignored.
To help correct this educational anomaly it was decided to found the Col-
lege of Physicians and Surgeons of Chicago, a designation suggested by Dr.
McWilliams. Doctors Jackson, Earle and Steele procured the license to
incorporate on July 2, 1881, and the final certificate of incorporation was
granted to Doctors Jackson, McWilliams, Steele, St. John and Earle on Octo-
ber 14, 1881.
For $5,000 a site at the northwest corner of Harrison and Honore streets
had been procured by Doctors Jackson and McWilliams, the sum being
advanced in equal shares by Doctors Jackson, McWilliams, St. John, Earle
and Steele.
The capital stock of the corporation originally was fixed at $30,000 and
was subscribed by the five incorporators. On July 18, 1882, the capital stock
was increased to $60,000 and each member of the faculty subscribed $2,000.
The first board of directors consisted of Doctors Jackson, McWilliams,
Steele, St. John and Earle.
The first eight members of the faculty were elected December 29, 1881,
when a curriculum was adopted. The original faculty members were Dr. A.
Reeves Jackson, professor of surgical diseases of women and clinical gynecol-
ogy ; Dr. Samuel A. McWilliams, professor of clinical medicine, diseases of
the chest and physical diagnosis; Dr. D. A. K. Steele, professor of ortho-
pedic surgery ; Dr. Leonard St. John, professor of demonstrations of surgery,
surgical appliances and minor surgery; Dr. Charles Warrington Earle, pro-
fessor of obstetrics ; Dr. Henry Palmer, professor of operative surgery, clin-
ical surgery and surgical pathology ; Dr. Robert L. Rea, professor of prin-
ciples and practice of surgery and clinical surgery, and Dr. Frank E. Waxham,
professor of diseases of children.
Soon the faculty was enlarged by the addition of the following members :
Dr. John E. Harper, professor of ophthalmology and clinical diseases of the
eye; Dr. A. M. Carpenter, professor of practice of medicine; Dr. J. J. M.
Angear, professor of principles of medicine; Dr. A. W. Harlan, professor of
dental surgery; Dr. W. A. Yohn, professor of inorganic chemistry; Dr. Albert
E. Hoadley, professor of descriptive anatomy; Dr. Pinckney French, pro-
fessor of surgical anatomy; Dr. F. B. Eisen-Bockius, professor of medical
'jurisprudence; Dr. T. A. Keeton, professor of genito-urinary diseases; Dr.
C. C. P. Silva, professor of therapeutics; Dr. Oscar A. King, professor of
diseases of the mind and nervous system; and Dr. Romaine J. Curtis, pro-
fessor of state medicine and hygiene.
The first regular session of the college began September 26, 1882, a class
of 100 having matriculated. This number gradually increased to 165. By
this time the college edifice had been completed under the supervision of the
architect, George H. Edbrooke. The structure was unsurpassed at that
time for beauty of design and amplitude of equipment.
The West Side Free Dispensary, organized by Dr. McWilliams, occupied
the first floor of the institution and was under the exclusive control of the
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 219
college faculty. Here students were initiated into the details of actual prac-
tice in the various specialties.
At the close of the first session of the college 52 of the 165 students had
been graduated, and 7,504 patients had been examined, demonstrated and
treated at the dispensary.
A factor that was to exert great influence in the affairs of the institution
now appeared in the person of Dr. William E. Quine, who was appointed
professor of medicine. At this time a spring course and a practitioner's
course were added to the curriculum.
Although the opening was auspicious, for several years thereafter the col-
lege underwent numerous vicissitudes. The administration of the institution
was attended with ceaseless turmoil and with frequent changes in the mem-
bership of the faculty. The policy which limited the right to teach in a par-
ticular field to the person who had bought the stock covering the field was
responsible for some of the discord. Intriguing for official prominence on
the part of one or two individuals engendered dissension and opposition on
the part of others to some of the policies of the governing board caused a
great deal of trouble. Overshadowing all were general uneasiness and dis-
affection resulting from the financial stability of the enterprise.
Dr. Earle, who was one of the stormiest and most persistent of the insur-
gents and one of the strongest men in the institution, was ousted from the
board of directors by the dominant four and Dr. Quine, his closest friend, was
substituted.
The college was not self-supporting. Year after year there was a deficit
in the treasury which aggregated $30,000 in the first ten years. The financial
standing of the corporation was constantly becoming weaker and it was next
to impossible to get a quorum at meetings, for the members were well aware
that the usual object of the gatherings was to raise money. For several years
Doctors Earle, Steele and Quine pledged their private property to the extent
of $45,000 to take care of college obligations and it is doubtful that, if any
one of these had failed in his loyalty during this trying period, the college
would have survived.
Dr. Quine, acting on the appeal of Doctors Steele and Jackson, undertook a
reorganization of the institution in 1892. Doctors McWilliams, St. John and
Harper retired and Dr. Earle was re-elected professor of obstetrics. Dr.
Jackson remained president of the corporation. Dr. Quine was made presi-
dent of the faculty, Dr. Earle vice-president and treasurer and Dr. Bayard
Holmes corresponding secretary.
This reorganization marked an epoch in the institution. It did not end its
difficulties and trials as a private institution, but from that time on the co
lege was more prosperous and grew more firm in the confidence of
medical profession. The faculty was enlarged and strengthened, the cu
riculum was broadened, and salaries, small but an earnest of good inte
were paid certain teachers.
Much credit was due Dr. Bayard Holmes for improving the curriculum-and
methods of instruction. Largely through his influence the college, i &Z,
added a well equipped laboratory building. This was the first struct
its kind in Chicago and the first one erected by a private medical
the United States. Here were complete accommodations for the depa
of histology, pathology, embryology, biology, chemistry and. anatomy.
Among those who were added to the faculty in 1892 was Dr. Ludv,g
Hektoen as professor of pathology and pathological anatomy.
220 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
Dr. A. Reeves Jackson died in October, 1892, and Dr. Earle succeeded him
in the presidency of the corporation. In the same year notable accessions
to the faculty were Dr. John B. Murphy in clinical surgery; Dr. Henry
T. Byford in gynecology ; Dr. William A. Pusey in dermatology ; Dr. Walter
S. Christopher in pediatrics, and Dr. John A. Wesener in chemistry.
Soon after the death of Dr. Jackson, his widow donated to the college a
small library of thirty books. No provision was made for the care of this
gift and no use was made of it, and in two years the number of books was
reduced to fifteen or twenty.
At this time Dr. Ouine offered to found a library on condition that the
faculty assume responsibility for the care and the administration of it. This
meant proper quarters, necessary shelving and a competent librarian. The
faculty accepted the proposition and immediately the founder donated six
hundred standard works, including all text books then in use in the college,
and the faculty installed adequate furniture, and employed a trained librarian.
Some years later a second donation of six hundred volumes was made by
Dr. Ouine. From the beginning he donated three hundred dollars annually
for the purchase of medical periodicals and new editions of text books. This
financial help continued for ten years, when the faculty assumed the burden
of supporting the enterprise.
Faculty members donated from time to time books of substantial value,
monographs and files of American, English and German periodicals which,
in the aggregate, greatly enriched the collection. Special mention is deserved,
in this connection, of the gifts of Doctors Casey A. Wood and the late John
E. Harper, because of their magnitude and scientific value. Very recently
the widow of Dr. Adolph Gehrmann made a substantial and highly valued
addition.
Other friends, also, gave important aid to the growth of the library. Of
these the one deserving the first mention is the late Henry J. Furber, who
donated the whole "Columbus Library" which included hundreds of volumes
of the highest class and several files of American and European publications ;
and the next to be mentioned is the late Dr. Burns of Polo, Illinois, who
donated a unique collection of very old and rare books.
The library has always been well cared for and efficiently administered
and for many years has been one of the most active institutional libraries in
Chicago. It was named "The Quine Library" by vote of the faculty, "In
recognition of the service to medical education rendered by the founder."
This was done long before the college became associated with the University
of Illinois.
When the value of the college property, including equipment, was appraised
by a joint committee representing the interests of the University of Illinois
and the interests of the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the library was
rated at forty thousand dollars.
Since the University of Illinois acquired possession of the College the
library has been liberally provided for.
After having been president of the corporation a little more than a year,
Dr. Charles Warrington Earle died in November, 1893, and was succeeded by
Dr. Steele. Dr. Frank B. Earle was chosen to fill the vacancy in the faculty
caused by Dr. Charles Warrington Earle's death, and Dr. George F. Butler
was elected professor of materia meclica. In 1895 Dr. William A. Evans was
elected professor of pathology. At this time the college adopted an obligatory
four years' course consisting of a required winter term of twenty-eight weeks
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 221
and an optional spring term of eleven weeks. The college fees at this time
were: matriculation, $5; general ticket, $100; laboratory ticket, $25.
The Post Graduate Medical School and Hospital was purchased by mem-
bers of the faculty and friends of the college in February, 1896, in order to
secure additional clinical advantages for the college. It was converted into
the West Side Hospital and connected with the old college amphitheatre by
a covered bridge.
With the year 1896 the college began its period of greatest material pros-
perity. In the summer of that year Dr. William Allen Pusey became secre-
tary and the rapid increase in the number of students in the college was in
large part due to his vigorous exploitation of the opportunities which the in-
stitution afforded and later to the prestige which came from the affiliation
with the University of Illinois.
The attendance in 1895-96 had been 235 ; in 1896-97 it was 303 ; in 1897-98,
the first year of University affiliation, it was 409; and in succeeding years the
growth continued until the number of 710 students was reached.
A new era was inaugurated when Governor John P. Altgeld made over-
tures in 1896 to President Quine of the college faculty looking toward affilia-
tion of the College of Physicians and Surgeons with the University of Illinois
as its medical department. At the instance of the governor the trustees of the
university appointed a committee to confer with a similar body from the col-
lege to formulate a plan of union. Doctor Ouine was appointed by the faculty
with the power to represent the college in the negotiations with President
Draper and a committee of the university trustees. Doctors Steelc and King
were invited by Dr. Quine to collaborate with him. The result was that on
April 21, 1897, a lease of the college property was made to the University for
four years and from this date the medical school passed under the control of
the university, but the university assumed no financial responsibility for it.
Co-education was introduced and university methods were adopted. On May
1, 1900, the college was officially designated the College of Medicine of the
University of Illinois, and its growth and prosperity advanced more rapidly
than before.
Another agreement was entered into in 1899 under which a twenty-five
year lease was granted to the university and at its termination the property
and good will of the college were to be vested in the university. During the
life of the lease one-third of the net profits was to go to the university toward
a medical college and endowment fund and two-thirds were to be apportioned
to the stockholders of the college corporation.
Accommodations having become inadequate in 1900, permission was ob-
tained from the university trustees to purchase the West Division High
School property for $186.000 and it was converted into the present medical
college building. The Illinois Dental College building was acquired and in
1901 the old building was transformed into the present dental college building.
A strong dental faculty was appointed and the plant equipped with a modern
dental college outfit. The medical and dental colleges and the West Side
Hospital were all connected by covered bridges. In 1906 certain members
of the faculty, including Drs. Steele, Charles Davison and Edward L. Heintz,
erected the University Hospital with 100 beds, partly with a view of giving
the students additional clinical advantages.
The preliminary affiliation between the college and the university having
proven satisfactory, a new lease was entered into on February 9, 1
period of twenty-five years dating from May 1, 1900, to April 30, 1925.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
provided for a dean, actuary, and a secretary of the medical faculty to be
selected by the president of the university. Dr. Quine was appointed dean
and Dr. Steele actuary. It also contained a provision for purchase of the
college property by the university at any time during the life of the lease.
This arrangement continued in operation until April 30, 1912.
Although the lease was for a period of twenty-five years, the trustees of
the university could only bind themselves for a term of two years because
of the existence of the biennial appropriation system. During the life of the
leases the university had contributed nothing to the support of the medical
college, and, because of entrance and scholarship requirements, the situation
was desperate. Immediate action was imperative.
Hereupon Dr. Quine, in accordance with the vote of his associates of the
corporation of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Chicago, advised
the university that the lease would be concluded at the end of the current
biennium. In conformity with this notification the president of the univer-
sity, on April 30, 1912, closed the medical department of the University of
Illinois because of lack of support and Dean Quine announced that the Col-
lege of Physicians and Surgeons of Chicago would reopen its medical school
immediately after the expiration of the lease.
The alumni association, which was composed of graduates of the medical
college during all of its administrations, was very much concerned about the
future of the college. The members were sharply divided. Some bitterly
condemned the officers of the corporation of the College of Physicians and
Surgeons for taking advantage of what they believed to be a technicality to
end the lease and refusing to longer rent their property to the University of
Illinois. These men were anxious for the university to continue its medical
course with or without the cooperation of the College of Physicians and Sur-
geons. Others censured the University of Illinois because of its failure to
properly finance the work in medical education which it had undertaken, and
desired to return to the old regime, and have an independent medical college
conducted without dictation from any one, depending upon students' fees for
financial support.
The annual election of officers of the alumni association was impending
and a vigorous struggle was staged for control of the organization. Each
faction was led by a popular, energetic, capable alumnus, each of whom had
been a member of the faculty of the medical college when conducted by the
university. One of these, Dr. Frederick Gillett Harris, was taking part in
the reorganization of the College of Physicians and Surgeons, and had the
active support of its faculty and friends. The other, Dr. Edward Louis
Heintz, had resigned from the old faculty because its relations with the uni-
versity had been broken and had refused to take part in the reorganization
of the college outside of university supervision and control.
The election resulted in an overwhelming victory for the interests of the
University of Illinois as represented by Dr. Heintz and his associates.
The alumni organization and other friends of the university, including those
members of the faculty of the University of Illinois College of Medicine who
had refused to take part in the reorganization into the College of Physicians
and Surgeons and some who were to continue with the faculty of the Col-
lege of Physicians and Surgeons, bestirred themselves to arrange for facili-
ties for the University of Illinois to continue its work in medical education.
About this time it was suggested that if it were possible for the medical
alumni to gather up the stock of the corporation of the College of Physicians
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 223
and Surgeons and give it outright to the University of Illinois, together with
the absolute control of the property, it would be the best solution of the
difficult problem; it would save to the university the fruits of its previous
work in medical education; it would prevent the rivalry incident to another
medical college being introduced into the field ; it would bring back into the
fold the friends of the College of Physicians and Surgeons and it would fur-
nish a plant already in existence, under the absolute control of the university,
in which to conduct its medical work.
Dr. Charles Davison in due course submitted the gift proposal to the trus-
tees of the university, who adopted a resolution to the effect that they would
accept the stock of the college corporation if all of it were delivered to them
on or before February 1, 1913.
The officers of the alumni association recognized that to obtain the stock
of the College of Physicians and Surgeons by donation or purchase, there
must be a unanimity of effort between their association, the other friends
of the university and influential representatives of the College of Physicians
and Surgeons. With this in view a committee was appointed by the alumni
association to take charge of the efforts to secure the stock for the university.
The committee consisted of Dr. Edward Louis Heintz, president of the
alumni association; Dr. D. A. K. Steele, president of the corporation of the
College of Physicians and Surgeons, and Dr. Charles Davison, ex-trustee of
the University of Illinois.
On January 31, 1913, the entire capital stock of the College of Physicians
and Surgeons representing the ownership of that organization and all of its
property was delivered by the committee to the board of trustees of the
university.
The charter, good will, scholarship funds and other affairs of the corpo-
ration were also turned over to the authorities of the university. The real
estate consisted of the old college building, now the dental school at Harri-
son and Honore streets, and the present medical college building at Ogden
Avenue, Lincoln, Congress and Honore streets.
On February 12, 1913, the trustees formally accepted the stock and pro-
vided for the reopening of the College of Medicine of the University of Illi-
nois. From that date the College of Physicians and Surgeons as a school
ceased to exist. Its history then became a part of the history of the Uni-
versity of Illinois.
Under the new regime Dr. Quine was appointed senior dean of the two
clinical years and Professor George P. Dreyer was appointed junior dean of
the preclinical years. At this time Albert C. Eycleshymer, David J. Davis
and William H. Welker, among others, were added to the faculty of the pre-
clinical years and the departments of anatomy, including histology and
embryology, pathology, bacteriology and physiological chemistry, were com-
pletely reorganized and active research work was started. In 1914 Dr. Steele
upon the resignation of Dr. Quine became senior dean, retaining the office
until July 1, 1917, when he resigned to enter the medical service of the
United States Army as major in the world war. He was succeeded by Dr.
Kycleshymer.
In 1915 the educational work of the first two years was considered equal
to the work given in the other colleges of the University and the Bachelor
of Science degree was authorized upon their completion in 1916. A graduate
summer quarter was authorized. This was the first attempt among medical
224 HISTORY OF MKDICINK AND SURCKKY IN CIMCACO
colleges to set apart a summer quarter exclusively for post graduate work
leading to M. S. or Ph. D. degrees. In 1917 the medical course was extended
from four to five years. In spite of the more rigid requirements the attend-
ance has steadily increased until now many applicants are turned away.
During the world war the faculty was depleted by the loss of teachers
who entered the army or navy. To prevent obliteration of college faculties
the National Council of Defense requested lists of essential teachers. At
first the men on the essential list were taken into the service on application,
but later the consent of the university was required. Students were inducted
into the medical Enlisted Reserve Corps and assigned to the inactive list in
order to continue their studies. Subsequently a section of the Student Army
Training Corps was established and, under the direction of army officers, daily
drills were conducted. The department of anatomy, on the request of the
Surgeon General, prepared a manual of surgical anatomy which later was
adopted by the navy.
Clinical facilities for the College of Medicine had for some time been
deficient and, with the close of the war, efforts were renewed to obtain ade-
quate contracts with hospitals, but they were only partly successful. If funds
for a hospital were not obtained the future of the College of Medicine would
be menaced seriously. Through the efforts of President James the general
assembly, however, appropriated $300,000. for a clinical building.
As the university was about to begin work on this structure a liaison was
effected with the Illinois Department of Public Welfare. The latter was
under the necessity of rebuilding the Illinois Charitable Eye and Ear In-
firmary, of providing a surgical institute for crippled children and a hospital
for the study and care of the insane and mental defectives. A joint agree-
ment was entered into between the university and the Department of Public
Welfare in July, 1919, whereby the university was to furnish the professional
features and the Department of Public Welfare the administrative features
in a unified program. Upon the strength of this agreement funds were appro-
priated by the legislature to purchase the old West Side Ball Park and erect
the buildings needed by the department and by the university.
Completion of this project and kindred plans will, the authorities declare,
place the College of Medicine of the University of Illinois in the ranks of the
foremost medical schools of the world.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
225
(Photo by Gates)
CHICAGO POLICLINIC
221 West Chicago Avenue
CHICAGO POLICLINIC
The rapid evolution of medical science, the new theories derived from
bacteriological research, the improvement in operative work and the develop-
ment of the methods of applied science — to bring all these within reach of
the working physician was the purpose of the founders of the Chicago Poli-
clinic.
So successful did the project become that now the annual attendance at
clinics is 30,000 and the number of students each year is 250.
Tangent to the enterprise is the Henrotin Memorial Hospital, which is
directly under the control of the Chicago Policlinic.
The Chicago Policlinic began its first course of instruction July 26, 1886,
in a rented house situated on the corner of Chicago, and La Salle avenues.
The first faculty roster contained these names :
Truman W. Miller, president and professor of general and genito-urinary
surgery.
Christian Fenger, professor of surgery.
Nicholas Senn, professor of surgery.
John H. Chew, treasurer and professor of medicine.
Fernand Henrotin, secretary and professor of gynecology.
Moreau R. Brown, professor of laryngology and rhinology.
Robert D. MacArthur, professor of skin and veneral diseases.
226 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
Albert E. Hoadley, professor of orthopedic surgery and diseases of the
joints.
William T. Belfield, professor of surgery.
J, Elliott Colburn, professor of ophthalmology.
George F. Fiske, professor of otology.
Malcolm L. Harris, professor of surgery.
Henry Hooper, professor of obstetrics.
Ferdinand C. Hotz, professor of ophthalmology.
Henry Banga, professor of gynecology.
Joseph M. Patton, professor of medicine.
Archibald Church, professor of neurology.
Henry G. Anthony, professor of dermatology.
To complete the faculty the following members were subsequently added :
Otto L. Schmidt, Gustav Futterer and Henry B. Favill, professors of medi-
cine ; Edwin M. Smith and Weller Van Hook, professors of surgery ; William
H. Wilder and Edward L. Holmes, professors of ophthalmology ; Charles S.
Bacon and C. E. Manierre, professors of obstetrics ; E. Fletcher Ingals, pro-
fessor of laryngology and rhinology ; Walter S. Christopher, professor of
diseases of children; E. P. Buffum, professor of pathology and bacteriology;
Hugh T. Patrick, professor of neurology ; J. P. Houston, professor of electro-
therapeutics ; Denslow Lewis, professor of gynecology ; R. R. Campbell,
professor of dermatology, and Henry M. Lyman, professor of nervous and
mental diseases.
Handbills were distributed announcing a free clinic and the institution
started in business, two beds in one room being the original equipment. The
free clinic and the dispensary in connection were a success from the begin-
ning and the hours given to each subject by the physicians in charge had to
be lengthened. Students began arriving nearly as promptly as patients. In
less than a year it became apparent that much larger quarters were needed,
but it was not until 1889 that the Policlinic was transferred to its present
building at 221 West Chicago Avenue, a four-story structure erected at an
expense of $40,000. Three years later the increase of work and attendance
of physicians required still more room and the faculty of the Policlinic added
two stories to the building and erected behind it another structure of equal
size. The total value of the plant now exceeded $100,000 and its equipment
and completeness of appointment gave the institution high rank among sim-
ilar establishments throughout the country.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
227
(Photo by Gates)
POST GRADUATE MEDICAL SCHOOL OF CHICAGO
2400 South Dearborn Street
P O S T-G RADUATE MEDICAL
SCHOOL OF CHICAGO
A group of physicians and surgeons which included Doctors W. Franklin
Coleman and Franklin H. Martin, left the Chicago Policlinic two years after
its establishment in 1886 to form another school.
A preliminary meeting was held in the office of Dr. Frank Billings, Sep-
tember 12, 1888. At this gathering were Doctors Billings, Henry T. Byford,
Henry P. Newman, Robert H. Babcock, Franklin H. Martin and W. Frank-
lin Coleman.
The first board of directors was completed September 14, and comprised :
Dr. Newman, president ; Dr. Babcock, vice-president ; Dr. Coleman, secre-
tary ; Dr. Martin, treasurer; and Dr. Billings, chairman of the finance com-
mittee.
The original organization had as counsellors and members Doctors N. S.
Davis, A. Reeves Jackson, J. Adams Allen, John H. Hollister, Henry Gibbes,
William H. Byford, E. L. Shurley, Charles T. Parkes, William E. Quine,
Ephraim Ingals, Hosmer A. Johnson and Edmund Andrews.
The school occupied in December, 1888 the third and fourth floors of
the building at 31 Washington street, now supplanted by the Marshall
Field Annex, the school at this time being called the Post-Graduate School
and the Chicago Public Dispensary. The first term for students opened
April 1. 1889. A hospital was established in the second floor of a private
dwelling on State Street opposite Polk Street.
228 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
In April, 1890, the faculty decided that the school should be removed
from the heart of the business district to a section further south. Accord-
ingly a lot was purchased at 59 Plymouth Place and a building was erected
on it. Pending construction of the school edifice the floor of a building
opposite with a frontage of fifty feet and running to Dearborn Street was
rented. Here clinics were held temporarily.
In September, 1890 the new school building was completed and opened.
It was a four-story building with basement and built of brick. It was steam
heated and equipped with elevators. The basement contained rooms for
work on the cadaver. The first floor was rented for commercial purposes.
The second floor was used for the laboratory, clinical rooms, drug rooms,
office, patients' waiting room and physicians' reading room, while the third
and fourth floors were taken up with operating room and amphitheater.
The school occupied the site at Plymouth Place for twenty months and
then, the staff being convinced that a better clinical center might be se-
lected, a lot was purchased at 819-23 West Harrison Street, adjoining the
College of Physicians and Surgeons. The construction of a new school
building was begun, while temporary quarters were secured at 757-759
West Harrison Street.
The new building was ready for occupancy May 1, 1892. It was situated
opposite the west end of Cook County Hospital and separated by an alley
from the College of Physicians and Surgeons. The building was fifty-two
by one hundred feet, built of brick with terra cotta and stone trimmings, and
consisted of five stories and a basement. The basement included a large
laboratory for classes in bacteriology and urinalysis and a large room for
operative work on the cadaver. The first floor contained five clinical rooms,
reception room for patients, reading room for students, drug room and of-
fices. The upper floors were occupied by the hospital.
Later in 1895 some of the faculty who resided on the south side of the
city felt that there was room for a school in that vicinity and therefore
established themselves at Dearborn and Twenty-fourth streets, the loca-
tion now occupied by the school.
In addition to the medical school, a general hospital of one hundred beds
is conducted by the teaching staff.
HARVEY MEDICAL COLLEGE
An evening school of medicine, which would allow the student to obtain a
medical education while engaged in some other avocation, was inaugurated
in Chicago with the organization of the Harvey Medical College in 1891.
The institution struggled during the first three years, but saw better times
beginning in 1894, when it was purchased and completely reorganized by
Dr. Frances Dickinson, who became the secretary of the college.
The college was moved to the corner of South Halsted and West Van
Buren streets, in one of the most thickly populated districts in the city and
one of the richest in clinical material. There, under one roof, was estab-
lished a medical settlement containing the following departments: Harvey
Medical College, Harvey Hospital, Harvey Free Dispensary, Harvey Train-
ing School for Nurses, Harvey Dime Drug Store and Harvey "Out Practice."
In the first seven months after reorganization the college increased its
number of students five-fold. The number of teachers was doubled, and at
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 229
the completion of the year's work the school was added to the list of recog-
nized colleges by the Illinois State Board of Health. In less than a year
thereafter larger quarters became necessary, and in the spring of 18% the
college moved to 169 South Clark Street, which became known as the Harvey
Building. In the first eight years of its existence the number of students
was increased from nine to more than two hundred and fifty.
The college passed out of existence in 1905.
HERING MEDICAL COLLEGE AND HOSPITAL
Hering Medical College and Hospital owed its origin to a small materia
medica club that was organized in Chicago in 1890 by Dr. H. C. Allen and
others. The object of the club was the study of materia medica and the
philosophy of pure homeopathy as given in the Organon of Samuel Hahne-
mann.
In the meetings of the club it was determined to establish a medical
college, which was opened October 4, 1892, in a building at the northwest
corner of Cottage Grove Avenue and College Place. The officers of the first
faculty were Doctors H. C. Allen, dean ; Howard Crutcher, registrar ; J. B. S.
King, secretary ; and L. A. L. Day, treasurer.
Women were admitted on equal terms with men and were recognized in
the formation of the faculty. Sixty students were matriculated the first year,
this number being increased to ninety-seven at the opening of the third year.
After four years of existence a new home was erected on Rhodes Avenue
near Thirty-ninth Street. Year by year changes and additions were made to
the faculty, resulting in increases in students.
After the organization of Dunham Medical College in 1895, there was con-
siderable rivalry between it and Hering Medical College. It was felt by
friends of the two institutions that it would be better to have them united,
and in 1903 Dunham Medical was merged in the older institution.
When the Chicago Homeopathic Medical College was merged in Hahne
mann Medical College in 1905, the building occupied by the former college
was purchased by Hering Medical College and the move to the new quarters
was made immediately.
A few years later the financial problems of the college became ever more
difficult, and it finally was deemed best for the college to close its doors.
This action was taken in 1913.
ILLINOIS POST GRADUATE MEDICAL
SCHOOL, INC,
• (For Photograph, see Page 300)
The Illinois Post Graduate Medical School had its origin in the middle
nineties when some of the faculty of the Post Graduate Medical School of
Chicago felt that a location on the south side of the city was preferable to
one on the west side and moved the institution to Twenty-fourth and Dear-
born streets.
Other members of the faculty remained on the west side and incorporated
a new institution July 30, 1896, under the name of the West Chicago Pos
Graduate and Policlinic. The first officers of the school were:
A. K. Steele, president; John B. Murphy, vice president; Thoma^ \.
secretary, and Charles Davison. treasurer. Associated with thc-m were 1
tors Stephen G. West, Edward W. Lee and Joseph P. Smyth.
230
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
At a meeting held July 19, 1897, it was voted to consolidate the new in-
stitution with the Chicago Clinical School and adopt the name of the latter.
The property opposite Cook County Hospital at Lincoln and Harrison
streets had been acquired by the Post Graduate Medical School of Chicago.
This was sold February 20, 1896, to the West Side Hospital of Chicago, the
Chicago Clinical School afterward using under a lease such space as was
necessary for clinical and post-graduate teaching.
The faculty was composed of such instructors as Doctors Henry T. By-
ford, Henry P. Newman, Alex Wiener, Boerne Bettman, William L. Noble,
William Cuthbertson, Edward L. Moorhead, F. Byron Robinson, Lucy Waite,
John A. Wesener, Edward W. Lee, Willis O. Nance, Frederick C. Zapffe and
G. F. Hawley.
The Illinois Post Graduate Medical School was incorporated September 25,
1907. The first trustees of this corporation were Doctors Thomas A. Davis,
Alex. Wiener, William L. Noble, Frederick S. Hartmann and Joseph P.
Smyth. The institution was reincorporated, not for profit, April 28, 1920, as
the Illinois Post Graduate Medical School, Inc.
The present officers of the school are Doctors Thomas A. Davis, president;
Thomas J. Con\ty, vice president; James A. Clark, secretary, and John M.
Lang, treasurer.
(Photo by Gates)
CHICAGO EYE, EAR, NOSE AND THROAT COLLEGE AND HOSPITAL
235 West Washington Street
CHICAGO EYE, EAR, NOSE AND
THROAT COLLEGE AND HOSPITAL
The Chicago Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat College was incorporated Feb-
ruary 15, 1897, as a post-graduate school of medicine for giving special
instruction in diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat.
It was first on the third floor of the Trude Building, where the out patient
teaching clinic was conducted. The next year it was found necessary be-
cause of the growth of the school to enlarge the quarters and a space four
times as large was acquired on the same floor. The school was conducted
at that location until 1901, when it was found necessary to acquire hospital
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 231
accommodations, and the present property at the southeast corner of Frank-
hn and Washington Streets was acquired and remodeled for that purpose
The school and hosp,tal have been conducted there since February 1 1901
The school has numbered in its faculty several of the well known author-
ities m its special branches, viz: the late Drs. Charles L. Enslee W I
Ballenger, Edwin Pynchon, A. C. MacLean and C Gurney Stubbs
During the life of the college, now twenty-five years, it has sent out 3080
len who do a very creditable practice in these branches of medicine in their
local communities.
It is contemplated by the college to construct a new building for fulfilling
leeds as a teaching institution and hospital, not later than 1924.
(Photo by Gates)
LOYOLA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
706 South Lincoln Street
LOYOLA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF
MEDICINE
Loyola University School of Medicine had its origin in 1909, when an
affiliation was tormed by which the Illinois Medical College became the
Medical Department of Loyola University. The University itself dates back
to 1869, when St. Ignatius College was chartered by the Illinois State Legis-
lature. In 1909 the College had developed to a point where the addition of
new departments seemed advisable and Loyola University was accordingly
incorporated.
In 1910 the Illinois, the Bennett and the Reliance Medical Colleges merged
to form the Bennett Medical College, which became affiliated with Loyola
University. This affiliation continued until 1915, when the Bennett Medical
College passed under the complete control of the trustees and became the
Loyola University School of Medicine. In September, 1917, the Chicago
College of Medicine and Surgery was purchased by the University and the
Medical Department moved into the buildings occupied by this school.
The board of trustees next turned their attention to a complete reorgan-
ization of the school in all departments, so as to assure efficient instruction
232 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
along the most modern and scientific lines. Their success was evidenced
by the fact that the Council on Education of the American Medical Associa-
tion judged Loyola University School of Medicine to be worthy of a class
rating.
The School of Medicine is located at 706 South Lincoln Street, facing
Cook County Hospital, in the heart of the hospital and medical district of the
west side and in the building erected and formerly occupied by the Woman's
Medical College.
The Lincoln Dispensary, located in the college building, is under the direct
control of the medical school and is a general dispensary equipped for clinical
construction.
The school of medicine is affiliated with Mercy Hospital and the Miseri-
cordia Maternity Hospital and through its arrangement with other hospitals
enjoys additional clinical facilities for teaching.
CHICAGO MEDICAL SCHOOL
The Chicago Medical School was organized in 1912 under the name of
the Chicago Hospital College of Medicine, which had received pledges of
more than $50,000. This organization at once took over the property at
3832-34 Rhodes Avenue, which had been constructed especially for medical
college work. The next year it obtained the adjoining property at 3831-35
Yernon Avenue for hospital purposes, this building now being occupied by
the Fort Dearborn Hospital, which was erected at a cost of $60,000.
In 1916 the chemical and biological laboratory building was dedicated. In
1917 an endowment fund of more than $100,000 was secured, and in the same
year an affiliation was formed with the Jenner Medical College, which had
been operated for twenty-four years. At this time the title of the Chicago
Medical School was assumed.
Hospitals
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
235
(Photo by Gates)
MERCY HOSPITAL— MAIN BUILDING
2537 Prairie Avenue
*MERCY HOSPITAL
To the desire of Dr. N. S. Davis to obtain hospital facilities for clinical in-
struction may be traced the origin of Mercy Hospital, oldest institution of its
kind in Chicago and the Middle West.
At the solicitation of Dr. Daniel Brainard, president of Rush Medical Col-
lege, Dr. Davis, who had two years before founded the American Medical
Association, joined the staff of Rush as professor of physiology and path-
ology October 15, 1849. At the following session of the school Dr. Davis was
offered the chair of the principles and practice of medicine. This offer he did
not wish to accept without facilities for giving bedside instruction.
Accordingly a meeting of physicians and prominent citizens was called to
discuss the subject and to devise ways and means to procure the hospital. A
committee was formed consisting of Judge T. Lyle Dickey, Judge Mark Skin-
ner, Captain R. K. Swift and Dr. John Evans.
The first thing that was done was to collect subscriptions. Captain Swift
and Judge Dickey each gave $10 and Dr. Evans gave $5. This was supple-
mented by the efforts of Dr. N. S. Davis, who conceived the idea of giving a
course of public lectures on "the Sanitary Condition of the City." The lec-
tures were accordingly delivered in South Market Hall, the largest in the city
at that time. Tickets were sold for twenty-five cents each and the proceeds
amounted to $100.
With this money rooms were rented in a hotel called "The Lake House,"
a large brick building located on the northeast corner of North Water and
Rush Streets. Twelve beds were procured and soon were filled. There were
patients, and clinics could be held, but there was no one to care for the pa-
tients. Finally, however, the problem was solved when an arrangement was
made with a woman who kept boarders in the building to the effect that she
*The following sketch is based in part upon a history of Mercy Hospital written by the
late Dr. John B Murphy and appearing in Volume Three of "Northwestern University, a
History, 1855-1905," edited by Arthur Herbert Wilde, Ph. D.; this material being supple-
mented by information furnished by Dr. Edward L. Moorhead and by Sisters of Mercy
at the Hospital.
236 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
should look after the domestic wants of the twelve patients for the sum of
$2.50 a week ; the nursing was to be done by the students of Rush Medical
College.
Thus was launched the Illinois General Hospital of the Lakes in 1850.
The domestic management and nursing were continual sources of anxiety
to the hospital staff and they cast about for some better means of serving the
sick. The Sisters of Mercy had come to Chicago in 1846 prepared for school
work and the other functions of the order. The first convent was built next
to St. Mary's church, which then stood at the southwest corner of Madison
Street and Wabash Avenue. Dr. Daniel Brainard lived just south of the con-
vent, a low wooden fence separating their grounds.
Dr. Brainard had seen sisters in charge of hospitals in the east and else-
where and he, Professor Evans and Dr. John E. McGirr were well acquainted
with both the sisters and the bishop. In their search for suitable management
for the hospital, it occurred to them that the sisters were the proper persons
to undertake the work and carry it on successfully.
Finally, with the consent of Bishop Van der Veld, four Sisters of Mercy
left the Mother House February 22, 1851, to take care of the Illinois General
Hospital of the Lakes. They were Sisters M. Vincent, M. De Chantal,
M. Patricia, and M. Anna. Sister M. Vincent McGirr, a sister of Dr. McGirr,
was made local superior.
Shortly after their arrival at the hospital Sister M. Anna died of the
cholera.
The sisters increased the number of beds to twenty-four and needed more,
as they could not admit all who applied. At the end of two years, when the
lease expired, it was impossible to secure a renewal. At this time two double
brick houses were in process of construction in Wabash Avenue near Van
Buren Street. These would not be finished for several months and the only
place available, which was large enough, was a rickety old one-story and
attic building, "Tippecanoe Hall," at the corner of Kinzie Street and what is
now North State Street. To these makeshift quarters the sisters and
patients moved in May, 1853. Here they remained until August of that
year, when they took possession of their new abode in Wabash Avenue.
Shortly after taking over the rooms in the Lake House the sisters obtained
a hospital charter, June 21, 1851. The name of the institution was changed
to Mercy Hospital. The late Dr. Hosmer A. Johnson was the first interne
and he assumed his duties while the establishment was still in the Lake
House. Doctors Daniel Brainard, N. S. Davis, J. V. Z. Blaney, John Evans,
John McLean, William B. Herrick and Thomas Spencer formed the attend-
ing staff. Dr. Edmund Andrews became surgeon to the hospital in 1855 and
for nearly half a century he performed the duties of that position.
A difference of opinion having arisen between Dr. Daniel Brainard, dean
of Rush Medical College, and Dr. N. S. Davis, secretary, as to the policy of
the institution and the course of instruction, Dr. Davis and his adherents,
including Doctors Andrews, Johnson, John H. Hollister, William H. Byford
and others, founded the medical department of Lind University, soon to be
the Chicago Medical College, and later the Northwestern University Medi-
cal School. The faculty of the new college promptly contracted with Mercy
Hospital to furnish free medical and surgical attendance in return for the
privilege of holding clinics.
From Wabash Avenue and Van Buren Street the sisters moved their hos-
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 237
pital to St. Agatha's Academy building, at Calumet Avenue and Rio Grande
Street (now Twenty-sixth Street). The building was a large brick struc-
ture with two and a half acres of ground around it. The number of patients
had increased to one hundred and the need for more room was soon keenly
felt. As an instance : The same apartment answered both for the pharmacy
and for the sleeping quarters of one interne, who happened to be Dr. Wil-
liam E. Quine.
In the year 1869 the cornerstone of the east front structure was laid. It
extended 200 feet in Calumet Avenue with two wings of 180 feet in Twenty-
sixth Street and a middle wing, 110 by 35 feet, in which was the chapel.
When these buildings were erected the sisters were told that it was folly
to build so large a plant and that they never could use it all. It was not
long, however, before double the space could have been utilized.
At this time Mercy Hospital was considered the finest institution west of
New York. With the lapse of years, however, the quarters became cramped
and many improvements, such as elevators and laboratories, were lacking.
The amphitheater, which had been the pride of the faculty and students of
the Chicago Medical College, was now too small to accommodate the num-
ber of students attending clinics. It was here that Dr. Byford, during the
winter season of 1871-72, performed the first ovariotomy in Chicago. Here
also Professor Andrews performed many major operations, meanwhile keep-
ing in touch with all improvements in asepsis and technic. "Whenever Dr.
Andrews went away on a trip," wrote Dr. John B. Murphy, "the sisters had
learned to expect a long list of improvements to be made and new ideas to
be carried out."
In their anxiety to keep pace with the advancement of medicine and sur-
gery, the sisters were confronted with the immediate necessity for elaborate
remodeling and additions. In 1892 the entire old part of the hospital was
rehabilitated and a new wing in Twenty-sixth Street was constructed. This
wing is 120 feet deep by 24 feet wide, with space for ninety additional beds
in all.
The old building of the Chicago Medical College on the corner of Prairie
Avenue and Twenty-sixth Street was torn down in 1896 and in its place an
addition to the hospital was built. This structure increased the capacity of
the hospital to the extent of two large wards and fifty private rooms, adding
nearly one hundred beds to the institution.
In 1908 the new wing, or Mercy Hospital Annex, was completed and in
1915 the new convent wing and addition to Mercy Hospital in Calumet
Avenue near Twenty-sixth Street was finished. All that portion facing
Calumet Avenue is devoted to hospital purposes exclusively.
It is planned to erect a new building to replace the last remaining portion
of the old structure on the corner of Twenty-sixth Street and Calumet
Avenue.
In June, 1919, Mercy Dispensary, a separate unit, though an integral part
of the hospital, was opened. It stands on property adjoining the hospital.
There are fourteen departments, each offering service every clay, and the
clinical staff is composed entirely of the staff of Mercy Hospital.
In December, 1919, the contract of affiliation with the hospital was changed
from Northwestern University Medical School to Loyola University School
of Medicine. The hospital staff consists of thirty members, who are nomi-
nated by Loyola University and appointed by the sister governing body.
238
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
Mercy Hospital School for Nurses was organized in 1889 and a charter
was obtained from the state in 1892. The training school is affiliated with
the Loyola University School of Medicine, the officers of which pass on the
entrance credentials of each applicant, and the diplomas are conferred upon
the graduates at the spring convocation of the university.
(Photo by Gates)
UNITED STATES MARINE HOSPITAL NO. S
4141 Clarendon Avenue
UNITED STATES MARINE HOSPITAL NO. 5
Component of an organization 125 years old, the United States Marine
Hospital Number 5 was established under an act of 1837 extending the
United States Public Service to western waters. An appropriation having
been granted in 1848, plans for the construction of the hospital were made
by Robert Mills, architect for the treasury department.
The site chosen for the structure formed part of the old Fort Dearborn
reservation. The hospital was opened for patients in 1852, with Dr. W. B.
Herrick in charge.
Due to the rapid expansion of the city, commerce soon encroached upon
the hospital environment and the problem of light and ventilation became
pressing. In 1867 Congress enacted legislation providing for the erection
of a new hospital and commissioners were appointed by the secretary of the
treasury, of which the collector of the port was chairman, to choose a site.
The location finally selected was the site now occupied, midway between
Chicago and Evanston.
A chronicler of the time says, "The tract was in the town of Lake View
and was a part of a school section. It is quite certain that the commendable
desire of the commission to replenish the school funds largely governed their
action in this matter. As to healthfulness, the site was all that could be
desired but, being six miles from the business center of the city, the institu-
tion is too far away either to be conveniently or economically administered
and this inconvenience of access has been the constant complaint of the
new officers in charge."
Contracts for the erection of the new building were let in 1869, but it was
not opened for the reception of patients until four years afterward.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 239
In the meantime came the great fire of 1871. Dr. Niles T. Quales was the
physician in charge. As the flames menaced the lives of the sixty-seven
inmates Dr. and Mrs. Quales, deserted by all the hospital help except two
nurses, rescued every patient, including two men with broken legs. Dr.
and Mrs. Quales were the last to remain on the scene and escaped with
their lives in an express wagon which they commandeered. The patients
were all transferred to Mercy Hospital, which was beyond the fire zone.
The new Marine Hospital was opened in 1873. It is built upon the pavilion
plan and consists of a central administration building and two wings. The
dimensions are three hundred by thirty feet and the material is Joliet lime-
stone. There are four stories and a basement. The original capacity was
two hundred and fifty patients. Connected with the hospital is a dispensary
for out patients.
In 1895 $10,000 was expended for the construction of a general operating
room.
Besides Doctors Herrick and Quales, among those who were in charge of
the Marine Hospital were Doctors Daniel Brainard, E. C. Rogers, E. O. F.
Roler, Ralph N. Isham, Truman W. Miller, John B. Hamilton and H. R.
Carter.
The hospital is now operated by the United States Public Health Service
and admits for treatment all of the beneficiaries of that service. For many
years only merchant seamen were admitted, but the different classes of
the beneficiaries now numbers thirteen. These include the veterans of the
World War. The following tabular statement shows the number of admis-
sions during recent years :
Veterans All Others
July 1, 1919, to January 1, 1920 880 345
January 1, 1920, to January 1, 1921 1,350
January 1, 1921, to January 1, 1922 536
January 1, 1922, to April 1, 1922
Total 2,850 1.224
For a short time during 1921, the hospital was used as a neuro-psychiatric
hospital, but on November 1, 1921, its status was again changed to that of
a general hospital. Its present normal bed capacity is 125. There are ten
medical officers on the staff, three attending specialists, fourteen nurses,
ten technical assistants and sixty-four other employes. The number of
patients at the present time (April 21, 1922) is 121. Recent medical ,
in charge have been Senior Surgeon George B. Young, from April, 1
Tune 1911, and Senior Surgeon J. O. Cobb.
240
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
(Photo by Gates)
HAHNEMANN HOSPITAL
2814 Ellis Avenue
II A H N E M A N N HOSPITAL
To a woman's generosity is due the origin of Hahnemann Hospital of the
City of Chicago, to use its corporate title. In 1853 Mrs. H. Wright, a pub-
lic-spirited citizen, offered to Dr. George E. Shipman $1,000 a year for the
support of a homeopathic hospital.
A suitable home was. obtained at 18 Kinzie Street, and the hospital was
opened to patients. The first report made by Dr. Shipman in 1885, shows
that fifty-two ipatients had been treated in the hospital during the year.
More patients were not treated, the report states, because smallpox had
gained entrance to the hospital, and it was necessary to close it to all other
patients for three months.
In 1855 the hospital was transferred to the trustees of the Hahnemann
Medical College, whose charter permitted them to conduct a hospital. For
many years thereafter the hospital had a precarious existence as an adjunct
of the Hahnemann Medical College, sharing in the many vicissitudes which
met this college during its early struggle for existence. In 1870 the college
became located permanently in Cottage Grove Avenue, and the hospital
came into possession of the property on which the present Hahnemann Hos-
pital Training School for Nurses stands at 2815 Ellis Avenue.
In 1872 a brick addition, including an amphitheatre for clinical purposes,
was built on the front of the lot.- The out-patient department, which was
established with the opening of the college in 1860, was now incorporated
with the hospital and conducted in the new part of this clinical building.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
241
In 1894 the present hospital was erected and the old hospital was re-
constructed for the training school. From year to year the hospital has
been remodeled to meet the new and ever-increasing demands for hospital
service.
With the erection of the present hospital the trustees of the college and
hospital incorporated the latter under the same board of trustees, this being
done to overcome certain financial limitations in the college charter. In 1915
the hospital charter was amended to allow it to "purchase, erect, own, con-
duct and operate hospitals, schools, colleges and universities, one of which
colleges shall be a medical college" ; and the following year the trustees of
the Hahnemann Medical College transferred its management to the board
of Hahnemann Hospital. In 1921, however, the two institutions again sepa-
rated for purposes of administration and finance.
The hospital now has 140 beds for patients, who are cared for in private
rooms, two-bed rooms, small wards and in larger clinical wards. Ample
provisions are made for free patients.
Clinical service in the hospital is given by members of the faculty of the
Hahnemann Medical College. The pathological staff of the college and the
college laboratories supplement the pathological staff of the hospital and the
work of the smaller hospital laboratories. "Any recognized physician," the
hospital circular states, "may bring his patients to the private department of
the hospital, and receive any service and assistance accorded to the physi-
cians who are members of the staff."
In recent years the number of patients admitted to the hospital annually
has exceeded 3,100, and the number of visits to the dispensary has been
more than 11,000.
CHICAGO STATE HOSPITAL-ADMINISTRATION BUILDING
North Narragansett Avenue and Irving Park Boulevard
* C HI C A G O STATE HOSPITAL
Before the Civil War Cook County housed its insane in a small bn,
building with narrow barred windows. The cells measured seven by <
^FhTistory of this institution to the year
^°^^^^^d^^.^
Charles F. Read.
was obtained I from gotame Two
Inf« ituuona.
242 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
feet. The doors of these cubicles were fitted with apertures through which
to pass food. The only heat came from a stove in the corridor which did
not raise the temperature in some of the cells above the freezing point. The
cold, however, did not freeze out the vermin with which the beds, walls and
floors were alive. The arrangements for bathing were so imperfect that
during the winter months there were no ablutions of the body; even in sum-
mer the number of tubs was too small and they were inconveniently located.
Squalor and mediaeval methods pervaded the place and the same civic intel-
ligence that, in Chicago, during the days of the rebellion, permitted a stal-
wart policeman to be the only health officer in the city guided the county's
eleemosynary institutions.
The county poor farm was established in 1851 at the town of Jefferson
about twelve miles northwest of Chicago. The farm consisted of 160 acres
of fairly improved land formerly owned by Peter Ludby, grantee under a
patent of 1839.
The poor house was completed in 1855. The building was of brick, three
stories high and costing about $25,000. The original department for the
insane adjoined this structure and contained the primitive accommodations
that have been described.
"A miserably planned and badly managed institution for so wealthy a
county," was the condemnation passed upon the establishment by the Illi-
nois Commission of Public Charities in its first biennial report dated Decem-
ber, 1870.
Conditions that evoked this censure had, however, become so manifest to
Chicago and Cook County that even before the report was written vigorous
agitation had resulted in plans for the construction of an adequate retreat
for the insane, and, almost simultaneously with the issuance of the com-
mission's statement, a new asylum was built and opened. This institution
was erected on the county farm a little more than a hundred yards northeast
of the infirmary. It stood in the midst of a grove near the shores of an
artificial lake.
The structure had a frontage to the east of 272 feet and v;as divided by a
central building in which the offices were situated. The two wings, each 116
feet long, were divided into wards. Each wing, three stoi'es high above
the basement, had central corridors thirteen feet wide. The patients' rooms
were on each side of the corridors. Especial pains were taken to secure a
thoroughly efficient system of warming and ventilation. The heating was
by high pressure steam and ventilation and was forced by two double-bladed
fans eight feet in diameter. There were two bath rooms and three water
closets on each floor. Each wing had a dining room on each floor with an
attendants' room adjoining. Pure water was supplied by an artesian well,
756 feet deep.
The cost of these buildings was $135,000. They furnished accommoda-
tions to 200 patients, giving a room to each. In 1871, on account of the
overcrowded condition of the hospital, cells were fitted up in the basement.
In 1873 a fourth story addition was added to the main building for the
insane which was occupied during the early part of January, 1874, as an
amusement hall and quarters for about fifty patients. In this same year a
piano was supplied for the entertainment of the inmates and a bowling
alley was fitted up in the basement.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 243
Conditions had so improved in 1878 that the State Board of Commissioners
of Public Charities was impelled to make this comment: "The insane de-
partment is a large and well built establishment constructed substantially
on the principles and methods approved by the American Association of
Medical Superintendents of Hospitals for the Insane. The number of wards
is sixteen ; there are four floors and four wards on each floor. There are 437
inmates with 100 sleeping on the floor."
Up to 1882 the infirmary and the insane asylum were under the entire
control of a committee 'of five county commissioners. The committee ap-
pointed a medical superintendent for the asylum and a warden, matron,
engineer and storekeeper, but none of -these officers had any power except as
directed by the committee, nor had either institution any head. However, in
1882 the county board adopted rules giving to the warden and superintendent
authority in management and control.
The asylum was the first in the west to appoint female physicians and
was the first in the state to appoint graduate female nurses. The women
physicians were Dr. Delia Howe, appointed May 1, 1884, and Dr. Harriet
Alexander, appointed February 1, 1885.
Detached ward buildings were completed in 1885 at a cost of $135,000. A
large basement later housed a general bathroom for patients with a swim-
ming pool measuring 20 by 25 feet.
Thus while domiciliary conditions had vastly improved since the benighted
days before the Civil War, many complaints were made at this time against
the appointment of employes through political friendship. This system had,
as usual, resulted in the presence of many inexperienced and incapable
attendants.
Dr. Kiernan, who had been medical superintendent from September 1,
1884, to September 1, 1885, read a paper before the Chicago Medical Society
complaining of abuses and mistreatment of patients and as a result a com-
mittee of the State Board of Charities investigated the institution. Sev-
eral county commissioners, ex-county commissioners and about fourteen con-
tractors were caught in the probe and later indicted by the grand jury.
In 1890 Dr. John A, Benson was medical superintendent. During this
year cottage wards 1, 2, 3, and 4 were completed. A biological laboratory
and autopsy house were also erected. The lower floor of the amusement
hall was fitted up as an industrial department for re-educational purposes
and a teacher was employed to teach industrial arts.
During the year 1895 civil service was instituted and the control and treat-
ment of patients in the insane asylum was for the first time placed under the
sole management of an able corps of physicians appointed by reason of their
fitness. A medical supervising staff was appointed September 23, 1895, con-
sisting of Dr. Richard Dewey, Dr. Sanger Brown, Dr. Archibald Church,
Dr. D. W. Lewis and Dr. William Cuthberston. This staff made the rules
for the hospital resident staff.
In 1897 cottage wards 5 and 6 were completed and the following year
witnessed the opening of the consumptive hospital. In 1903 the hospital
was remodeled and used for the physically sick insane.
Dr. John R. Neely was appointed general superintendent November 30,
1902. The working force of the institution was under the supervision of
the general superintendent, the assistant superintendent being in charge of
244 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
the infirmary. Dr. Neely resigned as general superintendent June 1, 1903.
By this time wards 7, 8 and 9 were completed.
In order to modernize the institution, Dr. V. H. Podstata was appointed
general superintendent June 1, 1903. A training school for nurses was
established and the pathological department was re-established with Dr.
M. H. McHugh in charge. Cottage wards 10 and 11 were completed in
1904 and in 1905 the first graduation exercises of the training school for
nurses was held.
Dr. Podstata resigned July 16, 1906, to become superintendent of the
Elgin State Hospital and Dr. O. C. Willhite was appointed to succeed him.
During this year hydrotherapeutic and electrical appliances were installed
in the west basement of the hospital Avard. In 1907 a psychopathologist
was appointed and semi-weekly meetings of the staff were held for the pre-
sentation of cases and for discussions. An elaborate system for the re-edu-
cation of the insane was developed. Two attendants were sent to the School
of Civics and Philanthropy with pay and a consulting staff of twelve physi-
cians from Chicago was attached to the institution.
In the year 1909 the general asembly enacted a law entitled "An Act to
Revise the Laws Relating to Charities." Section 20 of this act provided for
the removal of the insane and feeble minded from the county almshouses to
state institutions. All of the provisions of Section 20 were complied with
except that part relating to the insane and feeble-minded in almshouses in
counties of more than 150,000 population.
All patients in the county infirmary having been transferred to Oak Forest,
Illinois, in December, the buildings of the infirmary at Dunning were used
to house the insane.
An appropriation was made by the general assembly in 1911 to provide
for the insane and feeble minded in the Cook County Hospital for the Insane
at Dunning, Illinois.
On July 1, 1912, the County of Cook transferred to the State of Illinois
all lands, buildings and equipment known as the Cook County Institution at
Dunning, the name to be changed to the Chicago State Hospital.
The details of the transfer to the state were handled by a committee
composed of four members of the Board of Cook County Commissioners
in joint session with the Board of Administration of the State of Illinois.
The county board was represented by Peter Bartzen, president ; Bartley
Burg, Joseph Mendel and Lawrence J. Coffey. The appraisal of buildings,
lands and furniture resulted in a total valuation of $1,519,128.06.
The buildings consisted of the administration? building, two detached
ward buildings, hospital, infirmary buildings, cottage wards 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, farm wards, six tuberculosis cottages, nurses' cottage,
amusement hall, store building, laundry, pathological laboratory and morgue
building, power house, fire hall, horse stable, cold storage plant, slaughter
house and two greenhouses.
The State of Illinois assumed charge of the Cook County Insane Asylum,
July 1, 1912, and the name was changed to the Chicago State Hospital.
When the hospital was taken over by the state, Dr. F. B. Clarke, formerly
medical director under the county management, was appointed acting
superintendent and served as such until the time of his resignation, Decem-
ber 15, 1912, when Dr. R. H. Rea became acting superintendent, serving
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 245
until April 7, 1913. Dr. George Leininger was appointed superintendent
the same day and served until September 6, 1917, when he was succeeded
by Dr. Charles F. Read, formerly superintendent of the Watertown State
Hospital. Dr. Read served until October 1, 1921, when he was succeeded
by Dr. D. D. Coffey, the present superintendent. During this period the
hospital population had steadily increased from 2,759 on October 1, 1914,
to 3,567 on April 1, 1922.
Due to labor conditions, no new building" was done during this period
other than the completion of the structures started in 1914. In consequence
the wards are quite crowded. In spite of this fact the patients are at
present receiving better medical and nursing service than ever before in
the history of the institution. During the years 1917-18-19, owing to the
scarcity of help the work of the institutions was carried on under great
handicaps. At one time the nursing and attendant force was only two-
thirds of the minimum necessary for safety and the medical staff was
depleted in a similar manner. In spite of these difficulties, however, several
forward steps were taken in the care of the patients.
In June, 1918, a department of occupational therapy was established by
the Department of Public Welfare under the direction of Dr. H. Douglas
Singer, state alienist at that time and by Mrs. Eleanor C. Slagle, then
director of the Henry Favill School of Occupational Therapy. This depart-
ment has steadily grown and is now one of the outstanding features of
the institution, providing as it does for the therapeutic occupation of de-
pressed and apathetic, disinterested patients who formerly were allowed
to sit about in idleness for lack of anything to do. An old power house
was converted into an occupational center which serves as a high school,
as it were, to which patients are promoted from the occupational classes
on the various wards. Some 600 patients are daily touched by the activities
of this department. In connection there is a large, well equipped gym-
nasium and most excellent playground.
The medical officers under the direction of Dr. E. A. Foley, assistant
managing officer, consist of thirteen physicians.
In July, 1918, a central state psychiatric training school for nurses was
established by the Department of Public Welfare at the Chicago State
Hospital. It provides a most excellent three years' course of training
leading up to examination for the degree of R. N. and also offers post-
graduate courses as well as affiliate courses which nurses in general hos-
pitals may elect.
The State Psychopathic Institute was moved in October, 1919, from
Kankakee State Hospital to Chicago State Hospital pending final location
in the new hospital block at present under way at Polk and Wood streets.
Dr. H. Douglas Singer, state alienist, was director from 1908 to 1921.
Dr. Charles F. Read, state alienist, is at present in charge.
In the fall of 1918, as a part of the state program of the Department of
Public Welfare, a department of social service was organized at Chicago
State Hospital in which there are at present one chief worker and four
field workers, whose chief duty it is to investigate homes of patients prior
to parole and to assist them and their families in their adjustment to life
on the outside when they leave the institution. An average of 300 patients
are constantly upon parole in their homes subject to this supervision on
246
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
the part of the hospital. Also several clinics are held weekly to which
patients return to make reports during the time they are upon parole.
At the present time employes number 553, 350 of whom are directly
engaged in caring for the patients.
The Chicago State Hospital, as well as all other state institutions of
a similar character, is under the supervision and control of the Department
of Public Welfare, of which Judge C. H. Jenkins is at present director.
(Photo by Gates)
ISOLATION HOSPITAL
3411 South Hamlin Avenue
ISOLATION HOSPITAL
By Dr. George C. Hunt, Chief of the Ambulance Division, Health Depart-
ment, and former Inspector of the Isolation Hospital.
The first smallpox hospital in Chicago was erected in 1856 on a piece of
ground in what is now Lincoln Park. Its capacity was small — twelve pa-
tients. Only those too poor to afford a physician were taken there. The
better classes were quarantined in their own homes. At the close of the
war in 1865 the main building was enlarged to two stories and two one-
story wings were added, about quadrupling the capacity of the building.
The great fire of 1871 wiped out this building and in the spring of 1872
another two-story frame building was erected on the same site. This was
again destroyed by fire a few months later and that fall the erection of a
brick building 30 by 150 feet and two stories in height was begun on city
property at Twenty-sixth Street and Sacramento Avenue. This was com-
pleted in the following spring and was sufficient for the city's requirements
until the epidemic of 1881 to 1883. In 1882 a frame wing was added.
After the cessation of the pest in 1883 a long period of absolute immunity
from smallpox ensued until, in 1894, the great epidemic assumed such large
proportions that at first the large T-shaped, one-story structure was added
and then an overflow frame building two stories in height was constructed
at Ogden and Forty-fourth avenues.
For nearly a score of years every commissioner of health had urged the
construction of a safe and proper hospital for the reception and treatment
of smallpox patients, but it remained for Dr. Arthur R. Reynolds, com-
missioner during this epidemic, effectively to denounce what he termed in
his annual report for 1894 "the criminally inadequate hospital facilities and
unspeakable condition of the old hospital structure." Dr. Reynolds so
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 247
aroused public sentiment that the city council officially took action on
the subject.
Through Dr. Reynolds' indefatigable exertions in the face of bitter opposi-
tion to every proposed location on the part of the residents and property
owners, a piece of ground at Thirty-fifth Street and Lawndale Avenue was
purchased (the site of the present buildings) and plans were formulated for
a new building which resulted in an isolation hospital that was perfect
in its appointments and the equal of any modern hospital in this country
or Europe.
To those of us who were in attendance at, or who had occasion to visit,
the old pest house, the change was little short of miraculous. With the
destruction of the old smallpox hospital by fire December 1, 1896, was
terminated one of the horrors of the nineteenth century and yet we may
thank God that things were no worse.
In the fall and winter of 1893 the old building was so crowded that every
available bit of space in main building, barracks or tents was occupied and
new patients had to be laid on the floor and in the passageways while the
attendants shuffled along side ways in an endeavor to find room to step.
Two hydrants in the main buildings and three in the wooden additions
furnished the water supply. The only means of illumination were kerosene
lamps, which were within reach of every delirious patient and were not even
guarded by a wire protection until late in the year. Ordinary coal stoves,
also unprotected, gave an unequal and variable heat. It is only owing to
the goodness of Providence and the untiring watchfulness of the Sisters
who were nurses that a terrible catastrophe did not occur.
In June, 1895, the original hospital plans were submitted to a committee
of experts composed of Doctors John B. Hamilton, A. C. Cotton, E. Garrott
and F. W. Reilly. Their labors resulted in a modification of the original
design which effected a material reduction in the estimated cost, this reduc-
tion being deemed necessary on account of the straitened financial condi-
tion of the city.
The new hospital was located on a block 600 feet square bounded by
Thirty-fourth Street, Lawndale Avenue, Thirty-fifth Street and Hamlin
Avenue.
In planning the institution the idea worked upon was to provide a hospital
which would have a normal capacity of about fifty contagious disease pa-
tients, but which should have such administrative accommodations for
physicians and nurses and such lighting, heating and laundry facilities that
nothing would be required in the event of an epidemic save speedy erection
of temporary wards to expand the capacity to 500 or 600 patients. As many
of these wards as might be necessary could be added whenever required.
The health department, having been pressed to find room for diphtheria
cases, it was decided to devote to them the smallpox hospital described by
Dr. Hunt, and to build a new smallpox hospital. The latter was opened
in 1908. It is located at 3411 South Hamlin Avenue and has a bed capa-
city of 40.
In 1917 diphtheria cases were removed to the new Municipal Contagious
Disease Hospital.
According to Dr. Archibald L. Hoyne, chief of the department of con-
248
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
tagious diseases of the Municipal Contagious Disease Hospital, the Isola-
tion Hospital in 1921 handled 215 smallpox cases. In 1920, 666 cases were
admitted. At the time this article was written, June 23, 1922, there were
no patients in the hospital.
Besides smallpox the hospital has handled cases of leprosy and last year
energetic preparations were made in anticipation of an outbreak of typhus
when the possibility seemed imminent that the dread disease might be
brought from New York.
(Photo by Gates)
ILLINOIS CHARITABLE EYE AND EAR INFIRMARY
West Adams and South Peoria Streets
ILLINOIS CHARITABLE EYE
AND EAR INFIRMARY
By William L. Noble, M. D., Chief of Staff.
What is now the Illinois Charitable Eye and Ear Infirmary was first or-
ganized as the Chicago Charitable Eye and Ear Infirmary by Doctor Edward
L. Holmes and his associates in May, 1858. It was first located on Michigan
Avenue near the river, with a one room dispensary in the Ewings Block at
the corner of North Clark and North Water streets. In 1862 it was removed
to 28 North Clark Street. The third annual report shows the following
trustees :
Walter L. Newberry Flavel Moseley
William H. Brown Samuel Stone
Dr. Charles V. Dyer Dr. John Evans
Luther Haven Cyrus Bentley
Ezra B. McCagg John H. Kinzie
William Barry Philo Carpenter
The board of surgeons comprised Doctors Daniel Brainard and Joseph W.
Freer as consulting surgeons and Doctors Edward L. Holmes and Edwin
Powell as attending surgeons. These also acted as trustees ex-officio.
The report states that for the year preceding May, 1861, there had been
288 patients under treatment and that since the opening of the infirmary, three
years previously, there had been an aggregate of 580 patients treated.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 249
The thirteenth annual report, ten years later, shows the following board of
trustees :
Dr. Charles V. Dyer E. G. Mason
C. G. Hammond Daniel Goodwin, Jr.
E. W. Blatchford J. L. Stark
Samuel Stone H. Z. Culver
Ezra B. McCagg J. T. Ryerson
H. W. King B. W. Raymond
and the following members of the board of surgeons: Doctors Joseph W.
Freer and Hosmer A. Johnson, consulting surgeons; and Edward L. Holmes
and Edwin Powell, attending surgeons. Mr. George Davenport was the
superintendent and his wife served as matron.
During the year of 1870, 1,107 patients had been treated, making an ag-
gregate of 6,462 that had been treated since the opening of the infirmary in
1858. At this time we find the Infirmary located at 16 East Pearson Street,
near State Street.
During the civil war, a large number of soldiers with diseases of the eye
and ear were cared for by the institution, the care of the same being paid for
by the Northwestern Sanitary Commission and by the governors of Illinois,
Wisconsin and Minnesota.
On February 16, 1865, the Illinois Legislature gave the infirmary a special
charter and in 1867 appropriated $5,000 a year for two years for the treatment
of such poor patients in the state as desired treatment in the infirmary. This
appropriation was renewed in 1869. In the fall of 1869 additional accommo-
dations were provided at a cost of $6,000, this money being subscribed by the
board of trustees and the surgeons.
By the state constitution of 1870 appropriations in aid of institutions not
owned by the state were made illegal. The following year the state legisla-
ture by a special act took title to the property of the infirmary and established
it as a state institution, changing the name of "Chicago" to "Illinois." On
October 9, 1871, the buildings were entirely destroyed by fire, although all the
patients were removed without injury to any of them.
In 1872, the legislature at an adjourned session appropriated funds for the
rental of a suitable building on Morgan Street for two years. In 1873 a fur-
ther appropriation of $28,000 was made in aid of the erection of a permanent
building. The institution then had a fund of $33,000 of its own, derived from
the insurance of the old building and from gifts, the chief of which were a
donation of $20,000 from the Chicago Relief and Aid Society and one of $5,000
from the United States Sanitary Commission.
The present site at the corner of South Peoria and West Adams streets was
purchased for $18,000. The estimated cost of the present building, which was
erected and occupied in the summer of 1874, was $48,000. The building is of
brick, with stone trimmings, four stories in height above the basement, is L-
shaped with a frontage on West Adams Street of 105 feet and a frontage on
South Peoria Street of 95 feet, 6 inches, and is 47 feet deep. The lot has a
frontage of 126 feet on West Adams Street and 147 feet on South Peoria
Street.
The seventeenth annual report of the institution, following the erection of
the new building by the state, shows the following officers, trustees and
surgeons :
Trustees— E. W. Blatchford, president; B. W. Raymond, vice-president;
250 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
Daniel Goodwin, Jr., secretary; H. W. King and J. T. Ryerson. Ezra B.
McCagg served as treasurer.
Consulting surgeons — Doctors Joseph W. Freer, Hosmer A. Johnson and
Edwin Powell; attending ophthalmic surgeons — Doctors Edward L. Holmes
and Ferdinand C. Hotz ; attending aural surgeon, Samuel J. Jones ; microscop-
ist, Doctor Isaac N. Danforth.
Mr. Davenport continued as superintendent and his wife as matron.
Eight years later we find the following officers and medical board in charge
of the institution :
Trustees — Daniel Goodwin, Jr., president; Perry A. Armstrong of Morris,
secretary; and W. H. Fitch of Rockford. W. Irving Culver served as treas-
urer.
Surgeons in eye department — Doctors Edward L. Holmes, Ferdinand C.
Hotz, Lyman Ware and W. T. Montgomery; assistant surgeons — Doctors
Roswell Park, E. J. Gardiner, A. P. Gilmore and H. M. Starkey.
Surgeons in ear department — Doctors Frederick C. Schaefer and Robert
Tilley; assistant surgeons — Doctors S. S. Bishop and William T. Belfield.
Microscopist and consulting physician, Dr. Isaac N. Danforth.
It is worthy of comment that in 1874, at the opening of the new building at
South Peoria and West Adams streets, we find Dr. Ferdinand C. Hotz as at-
tending ophthalmic surgeon with Dr. Edward L. Holmes, because, next to Dr.
Holmes, Dr. Hotz, on account of his fine preparation in Germany as an
ophthalmic surgeon, brought to the institution a spirit of research and tech-
nical skill which is the basis of the education of nearly all the ophthalmol-
ogists of Chicago.
In the sixteenth bi-annual report for the year 1888, we find the following
medical staff:
Senior surgeon — Dr. Edward L. Holmes.
Surgeons in eye department — Doctors Ferdinand C. Hotz, W. T. Mont-
gomery, Lyman Ware and Edwin J. Gardiner; assistant surgeons — Doctors
A. P. Gilmore, J. E. Colburn, George F. Fiske, Boerne Bettman, Charles H.
Beard, George E. Brinckerhoff and Charles E. Walker.
Surgeons in ear department — Doctors Seth S. Bishop and Ira E. Marshall;
assistant surgeons — Doctors J. J. Anderson, James R. Davey, Cassius D.
Wescott and Charles Davison.
Dr. Isaac N. Danforth continued as microscopist and consulting physician,
and Dr. William L. Noble had assumed the position of house surgeon. Mr.
Edgar C. Lawton had succeeded Mr. Davenport as superintendent and the
matron was now Mrs. H. R. Wilson.
From this date (1888), the growth of the institution has been constant and
the size of the staff of physicians has gradually increased. The men serving
as surgeons as time passed would gradually retire and their assistants would
take their places and repeat the cycle. The following is a list in approximately
chronological order of those who have served the institution as surgeons,
either in the eye or ear departments :
Doctors Edward L. Holmes, 1858; Edwin Powell, 1858; Ferdinand C. Hotz,
1873; Samuel J. Jones, 1873; Lyman Ware, 1879; W. T. Montgomery, 1879;
Roswell Park, 1879; Edwin J. Gardiner, 1879; Frederick C. Schaefer, 1881;
Robert Tilley, 1881; Seth S. Bishop, 1883; Ira E. Marshall, 1887; A. P. Gil-
more, 1888; Boerne Bettman, 1889; Charles H. Beard, 1890; William L. Noble,
1896; William H. Wilder, 1896; William A. Fisher, 1896; Oscar Dodd, 1896;
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 251
James R. Davey, 1896; Charles L. Enslee, 1896; William E. Gamble, 1897;
Harry W. Woodruff, 1903 ; Norval H. Pierce, 1903 ; Henry R. Boettcher, 1903 ;
Willis O. Nance, 1907; W. Allen Barr, 1914; Nils E. Remmen, 1914; E. Kirk
Finley, 1914; Dwigtt C. Orcutt, 1916; S. Mead Hager, 1921 ; Ulysses G. Grim,
1921 ; William K. Spiece, 1921 ; Robert VonDerHeydt, 1921 ; Michael Golden-
burg, 1921 ; Mayer H. Lebensohn, 1921 ; Alfred J. Lewy, 1921.
Dr. William L. Noble is now the chief of staff of the infirmary and Dr. Leo.
Steiner is the. managing officer. At the present time there are fifty-five medi-
cal men in all departments of the infirmary, giving their time freely and will-
ingly in the service of the unfortunate poor of the state suffering from eye,
ear, nose and throat diseases.
There is scarcely any form of charity whose claims c?tn be so forcibly urged
on the grounds of humanity and economy as this. It relieves physical suffer-
ing and mental distress, by the cure of painful diseases, and by removing
fears of threatened blindness ; it restores many with impaired vision to sight
and to their daily labors, thereby removing one cause of poverty ; it prevents
ignorance by rescuing small children from partial or total loss of sight, thus
enabling them to acquire the rudiments of knowledge, and to follow in after
life honorable and remunerative occupations.
On the grounds of economy this charity claims especial consideration so
far as it prevents blindness, so far as it lessens taxation by reducing the num-
ber of the poor dependent upon public aid and so far as it adds to the pro-
ductive labor and wealth of the State. It would be difficult to point to another
form of charity by which so much good could be accomplished at so little cost.
The following is a list of dispensary cases treated by years, from January 1,
1910 to December 31, 1921:
January 1 to December 31, 1910, inclusive 66677
January 1 to December 31, 1911, inclusive 69191
January 1 to December 31, 1912, inclusive... 71778
January 1 to December 31, 1913, inclusive 74625
January 1 to December 31, 1914, inclusive 91864
January 1 to December 31, 1915, inclusive 123055
January 1 to December 31, 1916, inclusive 90173
January 1 to December 31, 1917, inclusive 95553
January 1 to December 31, 1918, inclusive 66406
January 1 to December 31, 1919, inclusive 59211
January 1 to December 31, 1920, inclusive 52786
January 1 to December 31, 1921, inclusive 56648
Total for twelve years ending December 31, 1921 917967
252
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
(Photo by Gates)
ST. LUKE'S HOSPITAL
1439 South Michigan Avenue
ST. L U K E' S HOSPITAL
By Arthur R. Elliott, M. D.
St. Luke's Hospital was organized February 18, 1864, and was shortly there-
after opened for the reception and care of the sick poor. From that date to
the present, its history presents an unbroken record of continuous service to
the community. Its growth represents a development from an original capac-
ity of seven beds to its present total of 400 beds.
At its inception St. Luke's Hospital was a charitable activity of Grace
Church parish, the initiative which led to its organization having originated
with Rev. Clinton Locke, the Rector of Grace Church. The Honorable
Melville W. Fuller, late Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court,
was prominently identified with the enterprise, having formulated the
original charter and articles of incorporation.
The original hospital was started in a small frame house located on State
Street near Eldridge Court, now Eighth Street, providing accommodations
for seven patients. Dr. Walter Hay was chief physician and the nursing
staff consisted of two members. The meager accommodations available in
this building very soon became inadequate,' necessitating removal to larger
quarters. A large brick house on State Street near Twelfth Street, now
Roosevelt Road, was rented. This provided an increase in capacity to a
total of eighteen beds.
In 1865 Dr. John E. Owens was given control of the medical affairs of
the hospital. He remained an active member of the medical staff from that
date to 1912, a period of forty-seven years' continuous service as attending
surgeon. Upon his retirement from active service, he was appointed hon-
orary president of the medical board and consulting surgeon, his name at
this date still heading the list of the medical board.
The first printed list of the medical board appeared in 1869. It included
the following names well known in the medical traditions of Chicago:
Dr. John E. Owens, Surgeon in Charge.
Dr. Mills O. Heydock, Attending Physician.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 253
Dr. J. Adams Allen, Consulting Physician.
Dr. Moses Gunn, Consulting Surgeon.
Dr. Samuel J. Jones, Attending Oculist and Aurist.
Dr. Isaac N. Danforth, Pathologist.
Dr. William H. Byford, Consulting Accoucher.
Dr. Walter H. Allport, Surgeon Dentist.
It was these distinguished physicians and surgeons that early gave pres-
tige to St. Luke's Hospital and as time went on established it as one of the
great hospitals of the West.
Growth of the institution soon rendered increased accommodations and
facilities necessary and in 1871 there was secured and occupied a large
frame building on Indiana Avenue covering a part of the site of the present
hospital. Capacity was increased to thirty-five beds by this move. This
wooden structure remained the home of the institution until the year 1882,
when funds having become available through bequests and donations in-
spired by the excellent work of the hospital, a new building was begun on
adjoining property. This building, which furnished accommodations for
sixty-five patients, was opened in January, 1885. It is still in use today,
constituting the oldest of the structures included in the present hospital.
Development now became more rapid. The Training School for Nurses
was established in 1887. Through the munificence of Mr. Byron Smith,
Mr. Samuel Johnstone, Mrs. W. G. Hibbard, Mr. W. H. Getty, Mrs.
Frank O. Lowden (nee Miss Florence Pullman) and other friends of the
hospital, construction proceeded apace until in 1891 the total capacity of
the hospital had become increased to 152 beds. The generous bequest of
Mrs. Elizabeth H. Stickney in 1897 provided for construction of the Nurses'
Training School building. In 1908 Mr. James Henry Smith gave to the
hospital $500,000 for the erection of a memorial to his cousin, George
Smith. With this generous donation was erected the Smith Memorial wing,
which accommodates 127 patients. This building is devoted to the care of
private patients. Such profit as is derived from this character of service
is devoted to the maintenance of the service wards and laboratories.
The latest addition to the hospital is the Kirkwood wing, which was
opened in 1916, the total capacity by this addition being raised to 400
patients.
Among auxiliary activities maintained in connection with charity service
are observation and convalescent clinics, social service and occupational
therapy.
The Training School for Nurses registers annually about 200 students.
The attending staff comprises sixty-four members, representing the various
medical specialties. During the year 1921 there were 9,539 patients cared
for in the hospital.
Plans are being prepared for a new building with a frontage of 200 feet
on Indiana Avenue and a floor area (per floor) of 10,328 square feet, which,
it is expected, will be carried up nineteen floors. It is hoped that this
structure will be under way during the current year.
One floor will be devoted to operating rooms and X-ray laboratory, an-
other to a very extensive laboratory, in which it is intended to include every
recognized laboratory method of diagnosis. The space will provide accom-
modations for twenty-five or more workers. A system of fellowships is
254
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
contemplated for the advancement of investigative work which will be an
important feature of this laboratory.
Especial attention will be given to providing facilities for the instruction
of both undergraduate and post-graduate students.
Provision will be made for the accommodation of patients above the open
ward class who are unable to meet the high cost of ordinary private rooms.
The ground floor will be occupied by offices, social service, out-patient
clinics, and other departments.
(Photo by Gates)
PASSAVANT MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
149 West Superior Street
PASSAVANT MEMORIAL
HOSPITAL
"Especially for the sake of a large and continuous stream of immigrants
passing through the city," it was. proposed by the late Rev. William A.
Passavant at the annual meeting of the Institution of Protestant Deacon-
esses of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, February 16, 1865 to establish
a Protestant hospital in Chicago. Dr. Passavant had founded the Pitts-
burgh Infirmary, said to be the first Protestant hospital in the United States.
Dr. Passavant had extensive knowledge of the needs of the new west.
Chicago itself then had a population of 170,000 and it was growing rapidly.
The plight of the hordes of immigrants constantly arriving in the city,
many of whom were sick and without nursing care, especially appealed to
Dr. Passavant.
Accordingly the Institution adopted Dr. Passavant's project and in July,
1865 the hospital was established in a frame residence in Dearborn Avenue
near Ontario Street. Its equipment was primitive and the capacity limited
to fifteen beds.
In 1867, through the efforts of Ezra B. McCagg and other public spirited
citizens, the Deaconess Hospital was incorporated and placed upon a sub-
stantial basis. The first board of visitors was composed of the following:
William B. Ogden, Ezra B. McCagg, William Bross. Eliphalet W. Blatch-
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 255
ford, J. Young Scammon, Elbridge G. Hall, Samuel Hale, Jonathan Burr,
Conrad Furst, William Blair, Francis A. Hoffman, Van H. Higgins, John
V, Farwell, Edwin H. Sheldon, Gilbert Hubbard, Iver Lawson, Erland
Carlson and Thomas B. Bryan.
Sometime after the incorporation of the hospital a friend of the insti-
tution offered a conditional gift of a plot of ground 250 by 500 feet near
Clark Street and Lincoln Park and means for the erection of a much needed
building were furnished by William B. Ogden, who subscribed $30,000,
and a legacy of $5,000 made by Jonathan Burr.
Just as the prospects for enlarged usefulness seemed particularly bright
the great fire . of 1871 blotted out the Deaconess Hospital utterly. Dr.
Passavant visited the scene of desolation and sold what the fire had left for
$8.50. It was not possible to retain the conditional gift as, in the general
calamity, the conditions could not be carried out. The death of Mr. Ogden
delayed the payment of his subscription for several years and the situation in
Chicago after the fire rendered immediate efforts to reorganize the institu-
tion inexpedient.
It was not until December, 1885 that a building in Superior Street was
finished and dedicated to the care and relief of the suffering. For fourteen
years its work had been interrupted. With the prospect of soon erecting
their main hospital building on a large plot of ground in Lake View owned
by the Institution of Protestant Deaconesses, the name of Emergency Hos-
pital was given to the new structure in Dearborn Street. It was to be
merely a branch of the major institution and was designed especially for
emergency and accident cases. When plans for the larger project failed,
the Emergency Hospital became a general hospital and its name therefore
was not only inappropriate and misleading but an actual detriment to its
work.
On June 3, 1894, the founder of the hospital died and shortly afterward
the corporation held a meeting and elected Rev. William A. Passavant, Jr.,
to the position of director. The name of the institution was changed to the
Passavant Memorial Hospital.
At various times patients were turned away for want of room to accom-
modate them. This was especially the case of those who desired and could
pay for private rooms. As the hospital depended largely upon income
from this source to meet the expense of its charity work, more room was a
necessity. This was secured by renting two adjoining flat buildings.
In 1901 the hospital was enlarged to its present size, and was completely
renovated. In 1894 the institution cared for 300 patients. For several
years thereafter there was an annual increase of forty per cent. The num-
ber of patients cared for annually for the last several years has been about
2,700.
256
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
(Photo by Gates)
MARY THOMPSON HOSPITAL
1712 West Adams Street
MARY THOMPSON HOSPITAL
The Mary Thompson Hospital for Women and Children began its exist-
ence as the Chicago Hospital for Women and Children in 1865. It was then
located at 49 Rush Street and accommodated fourteen patients.
The institution was founded by Dr. Mary Harris Thompson for the care
of women and children of the "respectable poor" and was chiefly intended
to serve the needs of widows and orphans of civil war veterans.
In the following eight years the hospital had seven homes in buildings at
49 Rush Street, 212 Ohio Street, 402 North State Street, 598 West Adams
Street, at Throop and Harrison Streets (in barracks used for four months
following the Chicago fire), 157 Center Avenue and the present location,
1712 West Adams Street. The predecessor of the existing structure occu-
pied the last-named site for several years.
The building now employed for hospital purposes was erected in 1885 and
accommodates from seventy-five to 100 patients. It also houses a large
dispensary department caring for 12,000 cases annually. A nurses' home,
a building of five stories, was erected some years later under the auspices
of Dr. Lucy Waite.
The hospital had been incorporated under the name of the Chicago Hos-
pital for Women and Children, but when Dr. Mary Thompson died in 1895
its name was changed in her honor.
The institution is under the control of a board of trustees and is public,
non-sectarian and open to all but contagious, chronic and mental cases,
except under special arrangements. There is an organized staff of women
physicians and surgeons, but the hospital is open to the patients of all rep-
utable physicians. The institution is largely self-supporting, but has some
endowments; trust funds having been left by William Henry Ryder, Lila
B. McCready, Carter H. Harrison, the Ryerson Charity Trust and Alexander
McKay.
During the first year there were 203 patients, of whom only one paid in
full the $5 weekly charge. In 1921 the hospital cared for 1,669 pay patients
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 257
and for 109 charity cases besides giving treatment and accommodations at
half cost to many others. In the dispensary 12,440 patients were cared for.
*EARLY HISTORY OF THE COOK COUNTY
HOSPITAL TO 1870
By William E. Quine, M.D., Chicago
Cook County came into existence as a subdivision of the state in January,
1831, and it began to take care of its sick poor twenty years later. This
was done in the Mercy Hospital from January 1, 1851, until August 8, 1863,
at a cost to the county of $3 a week for each patient.
In August, 1863, the county transported its people from the Mercy Hos-
pital to Jefferson, and cared for them, together with later arrivals, in a
building of its own and under its own administration, until January 15,
1866. Dr. D. B. Fonda was* in charge.
That was the first "Cook County Hospital."
The institution, formerly located on Arnold Street (now Wentworth
Avenue) near Eighteenth Street, and referred to in local annals as the "Old
County Hospital," was established by the city, and for several years was
known as the "City Hospital."
The first City Hospital was a temporary frame structure, a story and a
half high, built in 1854-55, under the supervision of Health Officer Brockholst
McVickar, for the isolation and care of cholera patients. It was demolished
in 1856, and a substantial brick building with a stone basement was erected
on the same lot at a cost of $75,000. This is the building referred to through-
out the following pages. The cornerstone was laid in June, 1856, and the
building was completed in November, 1857; but owing to a conflict between
the homeopathic and the regular division of the medical profession, which
spread through the community, the building was not occupied until 1859.
In order to comprehend the power of homeopathy at that time, it is neces-
sary to remember that then 40 per cent of all the homeopathic physicians in
the world were located in Cook County, Illinois. And some of them were
men of might.
There was now a deadlock and it had to be broken. It was broken.
In August, 1859, a number of physicians and surgeons leased the hospital
for five years in connection with a contract binding them to take care of
the city patients for a uniform fee of $3 per week. Under this contract the
institution was opened August 13, 1859, by the lessees:
Surgeons — Daniel Brainard, George Schloetzer, George K. Amerman.
Physicians — De Laskie Miller, Joseph P. Ross, Samuel C. Blake.
There was also a board of governors of nine members, representing the
city, who exercised general supervision over the care of the patients.
Clinical instruction was given in the hospital to the students of the Rush
Medical College during the winter of 1859 and 1860.
Remember, in this connection, that the Chicago Medical College also gave
its first course of instruction in the winter of 1859-60, and that its founders,
Nathan S. Davis, Hosmer A. Johnson, Edmund Andrews, William H. Byford
and John H. Hollister, had recently withdrawn from the faculty of the Rush
Medical College and had taken the Mercy Hospital with them, which was the
only hospital connection the Rush Medical College then had.
The capture of the City Hospital was the counter-move of Rush College.
* Reprinted by permission of the author from the Bulletin of the Society of Medical History of Chicago,
October, 1911. (Vol. 1, No. 1, pages 15-21.)
258
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 259
In the year 1862 the attending staff consisted of George K. Amerman,
Joseph P. Ross, Joseph W. Freer and Robert L. Rea.
At this time the Civil War was in progress and the United States Govern-
ment confiscated the property for the use of the army, and thus put an end
to the lease. It was opened as an army hospital October 29, 1862; its
designation was changed to "Desmarres General Hospital," August 23,
1864, and it was closed by the government November 12, 1865.
When it was confiscated it was put under the jurisdiction of Surgeon
Brockholst McVickar, sometime Health Officer of Chicago, and associated
with him were Acting Assistant Surgeons Joseph P. Ross and George K.
Amerman.
McVickar was succeeded by Surgeon Hall, and he by Surgeon S. A. Jackson.
On August 23, 1864, Surgeon Joseph S. Hildreth was put in charge, and
Acting Assistant Surgeons M. K. Gleason and J. H. Goss were associated
with him.
Although the hospital appears in the government records as the "Des-
marres General Hospital," during the period of Hildreth's administration
it was known in Chicago as the "Desmarres Eye and Ear Hospital ;" and
it was occupied exclusively by eye and ear army patients.
Hildreth was not an army man, but he was the son-in-law of an United
States Senator. He had recently returned from Paris, France, where he had
been studying diseases of the eye and ear under Desmarres and had settled
in Detroit ; and by virtue of powerful family connections he was put in
charge of this army hospital.
Even before the hospital had been vacated by the government, Amerman
and Ross were busily engaged in a movement to reestablish it as a charitable
institution ; and to this end Amerman had had himself elected a member
of the Cook County Board of Supervisors.
One of the humors of the campaign which led to his election is chronicled
by the newspapers of that period as follows : A figure of Mercury, of heroic
size, surmounted the dome of the old courthouse, and as usual with such
figures it held aloft in its right hand the caduceus or winged staff which
indicates that the bearer is the official messenger of the gods. Amerman
had hired somebody to fasten a big banner to that staff and the banner bore
a message to the people of Cook County, which had the appearance of a
command, sizzling fierce and straight from the skies, to "Vote for Amer-
man!" And the people did.
After the election he seems to have had no difficulty in prevailing on the
board to lease the premises from the city and to maintain them as a county
benevolence.
The proceedings were as follows : The city owned the hospital property
and the county owned the reform school property, a tract of 160 acres
located south of the city limits and extending from Fortieth to Forty-third
Street in one direction and from Ellis Avenue to Lake Michigan in the
other. The agreement was that the county should have the use of the
hospital property in exchange for the use by the city of the reform school
property ; but there was no exchange of titles.
The trade was consummated, and it was considered quite fair at the
time, but a wonderful change in values has occurred since. Now the reform
school property, half a mile square, is covered by residential and commer-
cial palaces and the hospital block is covered by a soap factory.
260 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
The triumph of the brilliant and persistent Amerman did not last long,
for he was stricken with tuberculosis and compelled to retire.
But Ross was there ! Without delay he secured his own election as a
member of the Board of Supervisors, and soon after as chairman of the
hospital committee of the board ; and held that position two years — from
1866 to 1868 — which was long enough for his purpose.
One of the conditions on which the board consented to assume the admin-
istration of the hospital was that the cost of maintenance should not exceed
$10,000 for the year, a condition that was accepted with delightful alacrity
by Amerman and Ross ; but, nevertheless, the cost of maintenance for the
second year was $20,000, and for the third year $23,000, and for the fourth
year $30,000, and doubtless it has kept on increasing ever since pari passu
with the increase in the number of inmates and employes and the increase in
the cost of living.
Following the evacuation of the hospital by the government, Amerman
and Ross, acting on the authority of the Board of Supervisors, proceeded to
put the place in order for occupancy by the county's wards. At the same
time they were busily engaged in organizing medical and administrative
boards of control.
Accordingly on January 1, 1866, Mr. B. F. Chase, who had been warden
of the hospital at Jefferson, was transferred to the new institution, and Mrs.
Chase was duly installed as matron ; and on the twelfth of the same month
Nils T. Quales of Rush Medical College, having triumphed in a competitive
examination for the position, began his career as the first intern.
At this time there was only one patient in the hospital, a German girl,
with a palmar abscess ; but a few days later the county's charges were
transferred from Jefferson to their new home, and the history of the Cook
County Hospital was begun.
George K. Amerman and Joseph P. Ross were its parents, and the date of
its birth was January 1, 1866.
DESCRIPTION
The "Old County Hospital" was nominally located on the southwest cor-
ner of Eighteenth and Arnold Streets, but actually the hospital lot extended
from Eighteenth Street to Nineteenth Street, and the building was placed
a little to the north of the middle line, leaving a lawn of modest proportions
at either end.
The building faced east, had a frontage of 133 feet and a depth varying
from 55 to 60 feet, and was three stories and basement high. The basement
was constructed of rock-faced Lemont limestone, the superstructure of red
brick with limestone trimmings, and the roof was tinned and painted red.
Considering the time, the "Old County Hospital" was a distinctly impos-
ing structure.
It was heated with steam, well lighted and ventilated, abundantly fur-
nished, well supplied with modern conveniences, and delightfully whole-
some from every point of view. Some years later it became infested with
rats and roaches through lack of competent management, and the process
of deterioration thus begun was allowed to continue. It was always liber-
ally supported by the county.
In 1869 and 1870 the sewerage system was thoroughly renovated follow-
ing the discovery of a break in the main conduit and the escape of tons of
human excrement under the basement floor.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 261
The heating plant was in the rear of the lot and the morgue stood between
that building and the Eighteenth Street line.
The capacity of the hospital was 130 beds, but during the period of occu-
pancy by the government it contained 160 beds, for then the clinical amphi-
theater was used as a ward.
The building soon came to be overcrowded and in consequence of increas-
ing pressure a three-story frame wing was connected with the south "end
of it in 1870 at a cost of $7,250. This wing contained three new wards and
increased the capacity to 220 beds.
From January 1, 1866, to January 1, 1871, the admission averaged 1,400 or
1,500 annually and the deaths about 120.
ORGANIZATION
The first Medical Board was organized as follows :
Physicians — Joseph P. Ross, Henry M. Lyman, Thomas Bevan.
Consultants — Hosmer A. Johnson, Robert C. Hamill.
Surgeons — George K. Amerman, Roswell G. Bogue, Charles G. Smith.
Consultants — Joseph W. Freer, William Wagner.
Gynecologist and Obstetrician — H. W. Jones.
Consultant — William H. Byford.
Oculist and Aurist — Joseph S. Hildreth.
Pathologist — Henry M. Lyman.
The basis of organization was equality of representation on the part of
the two regular medical colleges then in Chicago, the Rush Medical College
and the Chicago Medical College, and a sufficient number of non-college
men to constitute a majority of the entire number. Thus it will be noticed
in the presentment just made that there are three Rush Medical College men,
three Chicago Medical College men and seven representing the profession
at large. But, unhappily, this agreement was short-lived. The shrewd
and forceful Amerman, a non-college man, died in 1867, and Edwin Powell
applied for the vacancy ; but Powell was ineligible, because he was a pro-
fessor in the Rush Medical College. He thereupon resigned from the col-
lege, was elected attending surgeon to the Cook County Hospital, vice
Amerman, deceased, and a few days later was reelected to his old chair in
the college.
This act led at once to discord. It was a declaration of war between the
colleges. The discord continued with increasing bitterness until it even-
tuated some years later in the dismissal of the entire board and the appoint-
ment of a new board by the county commissioners, who had superseded the
old Board of Supervisors in the year 1871.
Changes in the organization were frequent in the first few years owing
to deaths, resignations and changes in the division of labor; so that in 1869
the following array of attendants and consultants was presented :
Physicians — Joseph P. Ross, Henry M. Lyman, Thomas Bevan, Hosmer
A. Johnson.
Consultants — Robert C. Hamill, William G. Dyas.
Surgeons — Roswell G. Bogue, Edwin Powell, Joseph W. Freer.
Consultant — J. R. Gore.
Venereal and Cutaneous — Charles G. Smith.
Gynecology and Obstetrics — Thomas D. Fitch.
Consultant — William H. Byford.
Eye and Ear Diseases — Ferdinand C. Hotz.
262 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
During the summer of 1870, Dr. William E. Quine, then recently gradu-
ated from the hospital as an intern, was elected attending gynecologist and
obstetrician to divide service with Dr. Fitch.
The medical board at this time was a self-governing and a self-perpetuat-
ing body and it was considered by professional people a high honor to be
connected with it. The basis of organization was acceptable to everybody
and fair to every interest, but the act of Dr. Powell led to its destruction.
To that act may be traced responsibility for the transformation of a noble
institution nobly administered into the toy of politicians and the scandal
of the medical profession.
THE INTERNS
Quales was the first and for three months he was alone, except that he
had the assistance of a pharmacist, William Baker, who served the hospital
in that capacity a year. Quales' service began January, 1866, and ended
February, 1867.
James M. Hutchinson began service three months later and Edward S.
Twining three months later still ; and when Quales was graduated Curtis T.
Fenn became a member of the staff.
During this formative period there were some irregularities in respect to
the length of service, but it may be said in general terms that the first four
interns served about a year.
D. S. Root, who began April 1867, and was graduated October, 1868. was
the first to serve eighteen months.
When organization was perfected and a regular order of succession estab-
lished the house staff consisted of three members, known as the junior
assistant, senior assistant and the house physician and surgeon, and each
member held each of these ranks and performed the duties appertaining to
each for a period of six months. At this time the pharmacist was dismissed.
The junior assistant accompanied the head of the staff on his rounds, wrote
histories and prescriptions on dictation, compounded the prescriptions, made
out requisitions for supplies, and conducted such primitive laboratory ex-
aminations as were then in vogue.
The senior assistant was the surgical dresser and the first assistant at
surgical operations. He also conducted post-mortem examinations, assisted
the eye and ear surgeon, and kept the records of his work.
The house physician and surgeon was in supreme command in the wards,
and when it became necessary in any case, medical or surgical, to assume
responsibility for acts not included in the orders of the attendants this was
always done by the head of the staff. He was in no way under the authority
of the warden. He assumed charge of emergency surgical cases and of all
obstetrical cases, made the round of visits in the morning and evening,
superintended the writing of histories and prescriptions, ordered the dis-
cipline of the wards, even to the extent of expelling disorderly patients, and
supervised the preparation of monthly reports for the medical board.
The relations between the interns and the warden were of the most
friendly character and nothing* approximating a clash of authority ever
came to my knowledge.
In April, 1868, the house staff consisted of Root, Senn and Miller. Root
was graduated in October, 1868, and Quine then began his career. Senn
was graduated in April, 1869, and Dyas entered the staff. Miller was gradu-
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 263
ated October, 1869, leaving Quine at the head, Dyas, senior assistant, and
J. W. Tope, the new arrival, junior assistant.
Soon after this arrangement began, Dyas received a dreadful infection in
the dead house which not only put an end to his hospital career but almost
ended his life. In this emergency Dr. William Fox was appointed, without
examination, to fill the unexpired term.
Quine was graduated April, 1870, and was followed by Tope.
The three interns occupied the same room, which was centrally located
on the second floor, and commodious and comfortable in every way.
It contained three beds arranged end to end along the side wall, and there
never was a moment's doubt as to which bed belonged to the head of the
family and which belonged to the tail.
Interns were allowed very few privileges by the attending surgeons, and
every act of theirs outside of orders was sure to be sharply scrutinized.
The surgeons were jealous of their prerogatives no less than of their repu-
tations.
But there were no telephones in those days, and the hospital had no
messenger service ; hence emergency surgical and obstetrical work frequently
fell on the interns ; but in every instance the facts had to be explained as
promptly as possible to the attendant in charge. Indeed, the interns, with
rare exceptions, aimed to keep faith with their superiors in these matters,
and consequently they were rarely subjects of criticism.
To a limited extent the members of the staff availed themselves of the
privilege of engaging in outside practice, and two or three of them are known
to have accumulated several hundred dollars in this way.
Similarly, for a year or two the head of the staff was allowed to show
obstetrical cases to undergraduates for pay, but this practice was never
heartily approved, either by the attendants or by the interns themselves,
and it soon ceased.
EQUIPMENT
The hospital had no equipment in those days except an abundant store of
medicine and of test tubes and an adequate supply of adhesive plaster and
of material for bandages, splints and sutures.
There was no microscopic and no clinical laboratory apart from the drug
room. Laboratory diagnosis was unknown except such proceedings as
were connected with chemical examination of urine.
Bacteriology and hematology were undeveloped and radiography was
hidden in the future by a wall twenty-five years thick. Asepsis was un-
known. Interns in touch, with erysipelas and gangrene, or engaged in post-
mortem work, were assumed to have no connection with obstetrical cases,
but there was no stern rule against it, and they thought no ill of maintain-
ing friendly relations with laudable pus.
Puerperal infections were frightfully frequent and deadly and the obstetric
ward was closed on two or three occasions for several weeks at a time on
account of them. During these intervals the windows were kept wide open,
night and day ; atomizers were kept busy sputtering weak antiseptic vapors
into the atmosphere ; walls and ceilings were freshly whitewashed ; and all
woodwork was scrubbed with antiseptic solutions, but the old deadly ignor-
ance of personal transmission of infection continued.
DOMESTIC SERVICE
The first warden, Mr. Benjamin F. Chase, served three years — 1866-7-8.
264
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
He was followed by Heber S. Rexford of Blue Island, who occupied the
position two years — 1869-70 — and then became county treasurer.
Mr. George W. Reynolds of Evanston succeeded Mr. Rexford. Under
his administration the hospital had a pharmacist again, Mr. DeWorthen,
who was appointed without need or desire on the part of either the medical
board or the house staff.
The domestic service of the hospital was exemplary in every particular.
The standards of character and of duty were high and the discipline was
excellent in every department. Political favorites occasionally received
positions under pressure, but their tenure was always shortlived.
The general atmosphere was such as surrounds a happy family. If there
was any "graft" in connection with the administration during this period it
was unsuspected by the house staff.
(Photo by Gates)
COOK COUNTY PSYCHOPATHIC HOSPITAL
West Polk and South Wood Streets
HISTORY OF THE COOK COUNTY
HOSPITAL- FROM 1876 TO THE
PRESENT TIME
By Frank Billings, M. D.
Eighteen hundred and seventy-six, the Centenary of the United States of
America, witnessed the completion of the two central pavilions, the boiler
house with the laundry, the kitchen and the mortuary of a new county hospital
upon its present site. On October 6, 1876, the patients were removed from
the first Cook County Hospital located on Arnold Street (now Wentworth
Avenue) near Eighteenth Street, to the new hospital.
The clinical amphitheatre and connecting corridors were completed in 1877.
The administration buildings and two additional pavilions were erected in
1883-4. The operating and receiving building was completed in 1897. The
children's and contagious pavilion was built in 1903 and the building for the
treatment of advanced tuberculosis patients was constructed in 1908 and
occupied in 1909. Thus more than twenty years elapsed between the occupa-
tion of the first buildings and the final completion of all of the structures
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 265
which were considered necessary for the adequate treatment of the indigent
patients of the county. The total number of beds available in the completed
hospital was 2000.
During this period of time the first buildings constructed became unsuited
for the efficient care of patients under the requirements of modern medicine
and surgery. Therefore, it became necessary to consider the need of the
erection of new hospital buildings to take the place of some of the antiquated
pavilions. Plans were drawn and approved by the Board of County Com-
missioners and on September 11, 1912, contracts for the construction of the
present pavilions A and B and the Administration Building were awarded
and construction work was begun very shortly thereafter. The total cost
of these buildings was $2,566,000. Contracts for pavilions C and D were
awarded January 10, 1916, and they were erected at a cost of $609,644, making
the total cost of the new buildings $3,175,644. The mortuary, the pavilion
for the treatment of children with communicable diseases and the con-
sumptive hospital are older structures, but sufficiently modern, so that the
completed plant provides facilities corresponding to the demands of modern
medicine and surgery in the treatment of disease and injury, and also affords
facilities for research and teaching.
The Cook County Psychopathic Hospital, established in 1914, is located
at Wood and Polk Streets and contains 175 beds. To this hospital suspected
insane patients are admitted for study and for legal commitment and also
for the immediate treatment and prospective cure of a certain class of
psychoses. The total number of available beds in the Cook County Hos-
pital, including the Psychopathic Department, is 2700.
ADMINISTRATION
Under the jurisdiction of the Board of Commissioners of Cook "County,
for many years the hospital management was dominated by political methods.
It mattered not whether the majority of the board of commissioners during
a period was Republican or Democratic. Political activities often detri-
mental to the best interests of the public were manifested by favoritism in
the appointment of members of the attending staff, at one time by an actual
graft in the sale of positions on the staff to ambitious doctors by members
of the board of commissioners, by interference with the teaching of medical
students in the wards, and at one period by an attempt to interfere with the
methods of surgical treatment and of research which was carried on with the
unanimous approval of the staff.
The first warden of the new hospital was Hugh McLaughlin, who served
from December 18, 1876, to the end of 1878. Daniel W. Mills was warden
from 1879 to the end of 1881, Joseph Dixon during 1882-3, and William J.
McGarigle from 1884 to July 5, 1887. It was during the regime of these
three men that the greatest political activities of the board occurred, and
particularly during the wardenship of McGarigle. Some members of the
board of commissioners in that period of time used their positions to
financially advance themselves in the ways mentioned above and some
politicians growing bold formed a ring to graft upon the county in every
possible way. As a result their peculations were finally discovered and the
warden, William J. McGarigle, some of the county commissioners, the chief
engineer of the hospital and others, were tried, found guilty and fined or
imprisoned or both.
During the erection of the Administration Building and pavilions A and B
266 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
of the present new hospital, charges of excessive financial graft were made
against the then president of the board, and other members of the board, but
no legal action was ever taken to substantiate the charges made.
During the period 1901 to 1911 inclusive, the administration of the County
Hospital by the Board of County Commissioners was characterized by
broadminded policies and improved service to the sick poor of the county.
Then followed another period of mismanagement with the usual reaction to a
better administration from 1913 to the present time. The present administra-
tion of the Cook County Hospital, under the standards set by the late Peter
Reinberg as president of the board and by Warden Michael Zimmer, is of
high order and is approved by the best citizens of the county who are con-
versant with the conditions at the hospital.
THE ATTENDING STAFF
In 1877-8, an agreement was made between the Chicago Medical College
(now Northwestern University Medical School), Rush Medical College and
members of the medical profession not engaged in teaching on the one side,
and the Board of County Commissioners on the other, whereby the attending
staff was organized by the nomination of one-third of the staff by each of the
two colleges and one-third by the outside profession and elected by the Board
of County Commissioners. In the event that a physician or surgeon nomi-
nated by one of the colleges or by the outside medical profession was objected
to by the board, it was incumbent upon the college or the group of outside
members of the profession to make another nomination.
This plan proved very satisfactory, inasmuch as the character of the
attending staff of the hospital was generally good and was representative of
some of the best physicians and surgeons of Chicago of that day. Among
the members of the staff at this period of time were such well known sur-
geons as Edmund Andrews, Moses Gunn, Charles T. Parkes, Christian
Fenger, D. A. K. Steele, Ralph N. Isham, Edward W. Lee, John H. Hollister,
William E. Quine, Lester Curtis, Norman Bridge, Joseph P. Ross, Isaac N.
Danforth, all of whom were representative of the best in medicine of the day
as practitioners and teachers. The attending staff so constituted continued
until the summer of 1882. At this time, the political activities of the Board
of County Commissioners were manifested by an attempt to direct and in
some events to embarrass the professional work at the hospital. Dr.
Edward W. Lee was at this time making some experiments on skin grafting
to hasten the recovery of patients who suffered from large superficial skin
defects. These experiments included the attempt to graft the skin of a
chicken upon a human being and also the skin of a lamb upon a patient.
These attempts, which were unattended with any cruelty to either fowl,
beast or man, were finally interfered with by the hospital committee of the
board by the suspension of Dr. Lee from the staff. This was followed by
an indignant protest from the remainder of the staff and the demand for the
reinstatement of Dr. Lee; this being refused, the whole staff resigned.
From this time on there were no further recognized representatives of the
colleges on the staff. From that date members of the Board of County
Commissioners appointed the attending staff without, as a rule, due con-
sideration for the professional qualifications of the appointees. Further-
more, the number of the staff was doubled at this date. However, there
remained upon the staff splendidly qualified members of the medical pro-
fession, both in surgery and medicine and in the specialties.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 267
Politics continued to play an important part in the appointment of mem-
bers of the staff and, inasmuch as there was not a sufficient number of places
on the active staff, the county board established a consulting staff without
limit in number, to which were appointed members of the medical profession
who desired an official relationship to the hospital without the responsibility
of caring for the sick ; however, the appointment carried with it a privilege
and an opportunity to teach medical students in the hospital.
This political abuse of the professional activities of the hospital became so
bad that finally during the administrations of President Henry Foreman and
of President Edward J. Brundage, backed by many members of the medical
profession, civil service regulations were adopted for both the attending
staff and for the resident staff in 1905. The professional work in the County
Hospital by the attending staff and also by the resident staff since the
adoption of civil service has been characterized by splendid service to the
patients and by a better quality of teaching service to the medical students
who were privileged to study in the wards and to attend the amphitheatre
clinics.
On November 28, 1881, the Board of County Commissioners authorized a
separate staff of Homeopathic physicians and surgeons. The Homeopathic
Department of the hospital was given jurisdiction over one-fifth of all the
patients who were admitted. A proportionate number of Homeopathic in-
ternes was established. Patients entering the hospital were not permitted
to express a choice for treatment under the so-called regular school and the
Homeopathic Department.
On January 24, 1889, the board authorized a separate staff of Eclectic phy-
sicians and surgeons with an allotment of one-fifth of all of the patients
admitted to the hospital and a proportionate number of Eclectic internes.
With the adoption of civil service in the selection of members of the
attending staff and of the house staff, sectarian medicine ceased to be recog-
nized by the hospital authorities. Places upon the attending staff were open
to competitive examination under civil service regulations to any licensed
doctor of medicine in good standing in the county ; likewise positions on the
house staff were open to any graduate of the medical schools of the county
which were in good standing with the State Licensing Board.
HOUSE STAFF
From its earliest history as a hospital, the position of interne in the County
Hospital has been an enviable one because of its educational advantages and,
therefore, has been sought for by the best students of the medical schools
of Chicago. Even before civil service was adopted, an internship was obtain-
able only by competitive examination of a most rigid character. To success-
fully pass the examinations, students of all colleges organized quiz classes
and for months before every annual examination, were drilled by qualified
quiz masters. In 1876 there were six internes ; in 1882, twelve, and as the
capacity of the hospital increased the number of internes was multiplied,
and is now forty-four.
For many years the interne service was a rotating one, covering a period
of eighteen months, which included six months' service in medicine and its
specialties ; six months in general surgery and its specialties ; and six months
in obstetrics and gynecology. For many years, too, there was a required
service at autopsies as assistants.
The experience of the interne of the Cook County Hospital is rich in
268 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
opportunity and in training in diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of disease
and injury and in obstetrics. Few hospitals of any country afford equal
opportunity. With training of this character, the graduates of Cook County
Hospital, as a rule, are successful physicians, surgeons or specialists. Many
of the graduates have assumed leadership as physicians, surgeons and teach-
ers in Chicago and elsewhere. Among these, some of whom are dead, may
be mentioned Nicholas Senn, William Fox, William E. Quine, William T.
Belfield, John B. Murphy, Lewis L. McArthur, Byron C. Meacher, Albert E.
Halstead, Joseph B. De Lee, James B. Herrick, Ludvig Hektoen, George H.
Weaver, Arthur R. Edwards, Robert B. Preble, Edwin R. LeCount, the
martyr investigator Ricketts, Thomas A. Davis, Charles Davison, H. Gideon
Wells, Noble W. Jones, Arthur D. Dunn, Bertram W. Sippy, and many
others who are doing efficient service in behalf of suffering humanity.
THE NURSES' TRAINING SCHOOL
Previous to 1881 the entire nursing of the hospital was carried on by
practical nurses, many of them men. On May 1, 1881, while the writer was
serving as an interne, the first pupil nurses of the Illinois Training School
for Nurses were admitted to the hospital wards for training. This was the
beginning of the training of nurses in Chicago. The primary hostility of
the innovation soon gave way to enthusiastic co-operation of the department
of administration, the medical staff and the patients with the school for
nurses.
THE HOSPITAL AS AN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION
During its whole history, the Cook County Hospital has expressed its
chief educational value in the training of internes. Since 1881 it has served
a like purpose in the training of nurses. Until recent time the wards of the
hospital have not been open, excepting for very short periods of time, to
undergraduate medical students. Therefore, it failed to supply the best
type of training to the medical students. This exclusion of the students
from the wards was due to the prejudice of the public reflected upon the
board of commissioners that the presence of medical students in the wards
was inimical to the best interests of the patients. Happily, this erroneous
belief has been overcome and students are now permitted to enter the
wards under regulations as to number and subject to the control of the
administrative officers and the staff. This policy affords splendid oppor-
tunities for the medical and surgical training of the students and insures
efficient attention to the patients. The presence of medical students in the
wards insures an inquisitorial factor of the professional work. Neglect of
efficient attention to the patient in diagnosis and treatment by the attending
staff and by the house staff is sure to be detected by the observant medical
student. Therefore, the presence of students in the wards is necessary
in supplying the publicity necessary to good work in any hospital. With
this method of undergraduate medical teaching, the County Hospital gives
promise of developing an efficient method in educating medical students.
PATHOLOGICAL DEPARTMENT
The County Hospital is locally notable because the study of pathology in
the middle west originated in the institution.
Until 1878 pathology in Chicago was taught by and autopsies were made
by physicians and surgeons whose chief occupation was medical and sur-
gical practice. Perhaps a few members of the profession had some knowl-
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 269
edge of morbid anatomy and of postmortem technic, but pathology was the
tail of their kites.
In 1878, Christian Fenger came to Chicago from Egypt where he had
been for a period physician to the Viceroy. He was born and educated
near Copenhagen, Denmark, where he had enjoyed splendid opportunities
for the study of pathology and had made thousands of autopsies. He had
served as a surgeon under the auspices of the Red Cross in the Franco-
German War. His qualifications as a pathologist were recognized at once
and soon he was placed in charge of the pathological department of the
County Hospital. Very soon thereafter the mortuary of the hospital became
the daily Mecca of the members of the medical profession of Chicago and of
the students of the various colleges to witness the autopsies and to listen to
the description of the morbid anatomical conditions found. Although Dr.
Fenger was unable to express himself with fluent language, nevertheless his
discourse expressed pathological truths and facts clearly enough to make
the subject understandable and his lectures continued to draw a large
audience for the many years that he acted as pathologist to the hospital.
It is an important historic fact that Cook County Hospital afforded the
opportunity to Fenger, the qualified opportunist in pathology. This point is
important because from the day upon which Dr. Fenger became pathologist
of the hospital, until this time, Chicago developed slowly but surely, as an
important medical center of practice, of teaching and of research. The
chief agent in this development was Fenger,— the pathologist, the clinician,
the teacher and, above all, the patron of young men, whether rich or poor,
who had the energy and the industry to seek the knowledge which his
example inspired. The work which Fenger did in pathology at the hospital
and his place in his enlarged field of pathology have been assumed by his
students Hektoen, LeCount, Wells and others.
RESEARCH
With the erection of the present new Cook County Hospital, facilities
for research in the form of laboratories were provided. This has enabled
the resident pathologists, in co-operation with the attending pathologist, to
carry on investigations and important results have been published.
Cook County Hospital is a noble institution maintained by the public
for the medical and surgical treatment of its indigent poor. At the present
time it is comparatively free, happily, of the many evils which politics
includes and which were manifested by mismanagement and graft in its
earlier years. It is to be hoped that an enlightened public will demand a
continuance of its present excellent management and that it may continue
to serve its sick and injured poor efficiently and as a part of its function
serve as a splendid medical educational and research institution.
270
HTSTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
(Photo by Gates)
ALEXIAN BROTHERS HOSPITAL
1200 Belden Avenue
ALEXIAN BROTHERS HOSPITAL
The Alexian Brothers Hospital is administered by a confraternity of
ancient origin.
When, in the beginning of the fourteenth century, pestilence was ravaging
a great part of Europe, a body of men actuated by Christian charity united
themselves in a religious community whose purpose was caring for the poor
and those afflicted by the plague and to bury the dead. They chose as
patron, St. Alexius, and the Church recognized them as a religious com-
munity under the name of the Alexian Brothers.
As early as 1377 Pope Gregory IX, in a circular letter, had asked the
Bishops of Cologne, Mayence and Treves to support the brothers in their
heroic work of charity.
Since the fourteenth century the general mother house of the order in
which the rector general resides has been located in the ancient imperial
city of Aix-la-Chapelle. The chapel of the mother house, dedicated July 3,
1481, is still in existence.
For more than six hundred years the Alexian Brothers have labored in
their work of caring for the sick and in nearly all of the European countries
they have hospitals and similar institutions.
In December, 1865, the superiors at Aix-la-Chapelle sent the Venerable
Brother Bonaventure Thelen to this country to found an establishment in
the new world and thus to open up a new field of labor. In crossing the
ocean Brother Bonaventure suffered shipwreck, but was saved and finally
landed on American soil. He decided to locate in Chicago. He had lost all
his credentials in the shipwreck and was looked upon as an impostor until
finally he received new papers through the archbishop of Cologne. In the
meantime he lived with the family of Henry \Yischmeyer on the north side
and by means of their hospitality and assistance he was enabled to pass
through the first winter.
Characteristic of the spirit of Brother Bonaventure was the fact that he
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
picked up his first patient on the street. He carried him home on his shoul-
ders and gave him his own bed.
The next year when a number of brothers from the mother house had
followed Brother Bona venture to this country, they decided to begin at once
the erection of a hospital. Through the efforts of the Redemptorist Father,
Joseph Mueller, the Right Reverend Bishop Duggan gave them permission
to construct a temporary hospital on ground belonging to the diocese at
North Dearborn Avenue and Schiller Street. In the fall of 1866 the building
was completed and occupied by patients. This hospital soon proved inade-
quate and the brothers bought a site near North Avenue between Franklin
and North Market streets. The foundation for the new hospital was laid in
the fall of 1867 and a year afterwards the establishment was ready for the
reception of patients. After hardly three years of experience this hospital
together with other buildings belonging to the brothers was destroyed by
the great fire of 1871. The loss was estimated at $100,000.
In spite of great difficulties a new hospital was erected on the old site
during the following year and this was operated by the brothers until 1895,
when construction of the Northwestern elevated railroad necessitated
removal of the institution.
A site at Belden and Racine avenues was bought and on October 4, 1896,
the corner stone for the new hospital was laid by Archbishop Feehan in the
presence of a great multitude.
In the spring of 1898 the buildings and their interior equipment were so
far completed that the transfer to the new home could take place. The hos-
pital, surrounded by gardens and parks, covers an area of 307 by 236 feet and
is equipped with all modern conveniences.
The establishment is a public institution open to all creeds and nationali-
ties. All kinds of cases are received except contagious. The number of
cases cared for during 1921 was 3,146, of which 871 were charity cases.
MICHAEL REESE HOSPITAL
East Twenty-ninth Street and Ellis Avenue
MICHAEL REESE HOSPITAL
The first Jewish hospital in Chicago was erected in 1868 at the corner of
La Salle Avenue and Schiller Street.
272 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
Funds for the institution were raised at a mass meeting of the Jews of
Chicago held October 22, 1866. The assemblage was addressed by Doctors
Ernst Schmidt and Ralph N. Isham and the sum of $10,000 was subscribed
on the spot. A few days later the amount was increased to $17,635, although
the objective was only $15,000. This was especially noteworthy in view
of the fact that the contributors had already taxed themselves $4,000 for
the relief fund for the current year.
The great fire of 1871 destroyed the hospital, however, and during the
next few years the United Hebrew Relief Association and the United Hebrew
Charities of Chicago, which from the first had controlled the institution,
distributed the patients among the other hospitals of the city.
The benevolence of Michael Reese was responsible for the amelioration
of these conditions and for the allocation of funds that finally resulted in
the establishment of one of the finest hospitals in the west.
Upon his death in 1873 Michael Reese left to Joseph and Henry L. Frank
the sum of $50,000, part of which was to go to the Cleveland Orphan Asylum.
The remainder was to be disbursed at the discretion of the recipients.
Twenty thousand dollars was sent to Cleveland and $30,000, at the solicita-
tion of Doctors Michael Mannheimer and Ernst Schmidt, was set aside
for the Jewish Hospital which was to be known as Michael Reese Hospital
and to be non-sectarian.
Michael Reese had also bequeathed a fund of $200,000 to Henrietta Rosen-
field and Joseph Rosenberg, which was to be disposed of at their discretion.
The first fund of $30,000 was expended in the erection of a building and
the purchase of a site at Twenty-ninth Street and Groveland Avenue, the
lot of the United Hebrew Relief Association at North La Salle and Schiller
streets being given as part consideration. The hospital structure consisted
of a central building and two wings, all being three stories high. It was
opened for the reception of patients in October, 1882.
The original staff consisted of Doctors Edmund Andrews, J. Adams
Allen, S. D. Jacobsen, Henry Merckle, William H. Byford, Hosmer A. John-
son, DeLaskie Miller and A. J. Baxter. Members of the dispensary staff
were Doctors Roswell Park, Ernest Lackner and Boerne Bettman.
The board of directors was composed of the following:
Isaac Greenfelder, president; M. Gerstley, Abram Hart, Joseph Schaffner,
Julius Rosenthal, Jacob Rosenberg, Dr. Emil G. Hirsch, Henry L. Flagg,
Herman F. Hahn and Nathan Meyer.
In the first year of its existence the new hospital disbursed $21,142.70.
During this year 431 patients were treated, of whom 158 were Jewish, 167
Protestants, 78 Roman Catholics and 28 of no religion. There were 218
paying patients, 13 part pay and 200 charity cases.
In the following years the fund of $200,000 was gradually expended by
Mrs. Rosenfield and Mr. Rosenberg in reconstructing the hospital, the
interior having been built of wood originally. Thus the edifice was made as
nearly fireproof as its peculiar method of construction would permit.
The children's department was organized in 1890 as a small ward which
occupied about twelve beds on the ground floor of the original building on
the same site where the hospital now stands. The first attending physicians
to this department were Doctors Ernest Lackner and Frank Cary. Applica-
tions for admission to this department increased so rapidly that more space
HISTORY OF .MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 273
was required and in 1894 a building was erected on the north portion of the
hospital grounds. The new pavilion was made possible by the munificence
of Mr. Jacob Rosenberg and his family, and was designated "The Pavilion
for Women and Children."
In this structure about fifty sick infants and children were housed as well
as mothers who were either sick themselves or who were in attendance upon
their sick infants. Dr. Ernest Lackner continued as attending physician
and Dr. Isaac A. Abt succeeded Dr. Frank Cary, who was assigned to the
department of obstetrics.
When the present Michael Reese Hospital was erected in 1908, two floors
in the north wing were set. aside as children's wards. The allotted space
was carefully planned with, a separate entrance, and contained isolated
cubicles, private rooms and accommodations for infants and children. This
served well for a short period of time, but the increasing requirements for
additional space showed the need of a separate building for children.
In 1910 plans were instituted for the erection of the new Sarah Morris
Pavilion for children. Mrs. Nelson Morris, by her will, set aside funds for
the erection and maintenance of this building. In 1912 this structure was
opened for the reception of patients. It was carefully planned for the peculiar
needs of sick children. It accommodates about one hundred and twenty-five
patients and contains about twenty private rooms whish are set aside for
sick children who are accompanied by mother or attendant.
The maternity service was inaugurated in 1902, five free beds (four in
one ward and one in an isolation room), three private rooms, an operating,
sterilizing and bathroom, making up the unit. Dr. Lester E. Frankenthal
was appointed attending obstetrician and Dr. Henry Banga, consultant.
Later Dr. Frank Cary joined the department, having resigned from the chil-
dren's department. Soon the yearly attendance averaged between 240 and
275 cases. Fourteen years ago the new Michael Reese Hospital opened its
doors with a large modern maternity, that in pre-war days was averaging
from a hundred to a hundred and thirty cases a month.
An important feature of the hospital is the large research laboratory
named after Nelson Morris.
During the year 1921 the hospital, now controlled by the Associated
Jewish Charities of Chicago, cared for 8,442 patients.
274
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
(Photo by Gates)
ST. JOSEPH'S HOSPITAL
2100 Burling Street
ST. JOSEPH'S HOSPITAL
The original name of St. Joseph's Hospital was the Providence Hospital,
which was established in 1868 in Lake View by Sisters Walburga, Anina
and M. Joseph.
In 1871 the hospital was transferred to its present site at 2100 Burling
Street, but owing to the fire of that year it was not opened until May, 1872
by Sister Walburga and seven Sister companions. The hospital is conducted
by the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul and is affiliated with Rush
Medical College.
In 1884 Doctors Nicholas Senn and Robert D. MacArthur began the out-
patient clinic, which later was divided into sections. Among the medical
men of the past who have been connected with the hospital were Doctors
Charles T. Parkes, Nicholas Senn, Fernand Henrotin and Daniel R. Brower.
In recent years an annex of steel and concrete construction containing one
hundred rooms for patients was added, giving the hospital a capacity of
200 beds. The number of patients cared for during the first year was sev-
enty, of which one-third were charity cases. In 1921, 4,800 patients were
admitted, about 200 of these being charity cases.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
275
(Photo by Gates)
AUGUSTANA HOSPITAL
Lincoln, Garfield and Cleveland Avenues
AUGUSTANA HOSPITAL
Approximately 70,000 sufferers have received the ministrations of August-
ana Hospital in the thirty-eight years of its existence.
The name Augustana was first applied to the confession of the Evangelical
Princes of Germany, which was submitted to the Emperor Charles V at the
diet of Augsburg in 1530.
The Augustana Hospital is owned and controlled by the Illinois Confer-
ence of the Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod. The corporate name
of the hospital is the Deaconess Institution of the Swedish Evangelical
Lutheran Church, whose certificate wras granted in 1882. The first hospital
building was opened May 28, 1884 on the present site.
At the opening there were one physician and surgeon, Dr. Truman W.
Miller ; one nurse and matron, Miss Lottie Frejd ; and one patient, who had
come to the dedication of the hospital and on alighting from a street car had
broken her leg. There were fifteen beds. The hospital building at first was
rented and later purchased from the Rev. Dr. Erland Carlson, pastor of the
Immanuel Swedish Lutheran Church, who had used it as his residence.
The incorporators and first directors were : the Reverend Doctors Erland
Carlson, O. Olsson, M. C. Ranseen and C. B. L. Boman, and Charles P.
Holmberg, G. A. Bohman and John Erlander.
In September, 1892, the corner stone of the south portion of the present
hospital was laid. This portion, containing 125 beds, was completed in 1894
at a cost of $70,000. In 1903-04 the north and east wings were erected and
furnished at a cost of $130,000, giving the entire hospital a capacity of 200
beds. The building is six stones high.
The chiefs of staff and surgeons-in-chief of the hospital have been Doctors
Truman W. Miller, 1884-1890; Charles T. Parkes, 1890-1891; and A. J.
Ochsner, from 1891 to the present.
Notwithstanding its very definite sponsorship, the only requisite for
admission to the hospital is the need of treatment and care. Patients of
276
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
every denominational creed, or of no creed at all, are received without dis-
crimination, the paramount desire of those in charge being to alleviate suf-
fering. Outside of the Lutheran connection, the creed having the largest rep-
resentation among the patients is Roman Catholic. As many as twenty-nine
nations have furnished their quota of sufferers.
The hospital is maintained as a charitable institution. According to its
charter, no individual or body, ecclesiastical or civic, can divert funds for
gain. Whatever surplus there is when the running expenses are paid must
be devoted to the aid of sick and needy patients. From one-fifth to one-
fourth of the surgical and medical work of the doctors is done gratuitously.
The institution is supported by the pay of patients, by contributions from
churches, donations from charitable organizations and from individuals.
An auxiliary of the institution is the Augustana Hospital Aid Society,
which derives its membership from all the Lutheran churches on the north
side. Its purpose is to give aid to needy patients within the Lutheran
churches of Chicago. The present membership is 250, mostly women.
The hospital authorities have made provision for future enlargement by
purchasing a tract comprising 379 feet of frontage on Garfield Avenue and
268 feet on Sedgwick Street covering an area of nearly 85,000 square feet.
A large fund for the erection of a new hospital has been collected.
On the site indicated it is proposed to build two pavilions, one contain-
ing 150 private rooms with all modern improvements, about 238 feet in
length and 50 feet in width and seven stories high in rear, and one of the
same height containing small wards of two to four beds and less expensive
private rooms. The two pavilions are to be joined by a center building four
stories high. This structure is to comprise the administration rooms,
quarters for internes and several modern operating rooms.
A home for nurses is now in course of construction.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
277
(Photo by Gates)
PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL
Congress and Wood Streets and Hermitage Avenue
PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL
By David W. Graham, M. D.
Nearly forty years ago members of the faculty of Rush Medical College
felt the need of a more certain and more abundant supply of clinical material
than it had hitherto been possible to command. Modern methods of teach-
ing and the rapidly expanding domain of medical science imperatively de-
manded such increase of resources for teaching medicine as a fully equipped
hospital affords. So the Rush College faculty, with Dr. Joseph Presley Ross
as protagonist, determined to build a hospital.
For this purpose Dr. Ross obtained a gift of $10,000 from his father-in-
law, Mr. Tuthill King. This was the first contribution and "the corner
stone upon which the hospital was built," in consideration of which Mr.
King and his heirs "should have the right to one free bed in perpetuity."
With this as a beginning a small building was erected contiguous to and
north of the college building. But the present and prospective financial
problems loomed large. Several plans were proposed and discussed for
securing outside cooperation. A cogent appeal to the public was that
Chicago was greatly in need of more hospitals, and that especially was
this true of the west side of the city.
The original plan of Dr. Ross was that the hospital should be under
Protestant management and "if denominational, why not Presbyterian"? In
pursuance of this plan articles of incorporation for the Presbyterian Hospital
of Chicago were issued to Dr. Ross and others by the secretary of state
July 21, 1883. On December 13 following, a meeting of those sponsoring
the movement was held to complete the organization. At a later meeting
this organization agreed to take over, complete and maintain the unfinished
hospital, Rush Medical College reserving the right to nominate the medical
staff and to control the clinical resources of the future hospital.
278 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
At the meeting of December 13 it was decided that after the first year
there should be a board of twenty-four managers and five ex-officio managers,
the latter to be the pastors of the First, Second, Third and Fourth Presby-
terian Churches of Chicago and a representative of the McCormick Theo-
logical Seminary.
The first board of managers was constituted as follows:
Dr. Daniel K. Pearsons, president; Charles H. Henderson, vice-president;
Cyrus H. McCormick, Jr., corresponding secretary ; George H. Hale, treas-
urer; William A. Douglas, recording secretary; Tuthill King, Dr. Robert C.
Hamill, John B. Drake, Dr. Henry M. Lyman, Samuel J. McPherson, Wil-
liam Blair, Samuel M. Moore, Henry Waller, John H. Barrows, Nathan Cor-
with, W. H. Wells, James H. Horton, Jacob Beidler, Abbott E. Kittredge,
Robert T. Crane, Willis G. Craig, Dr. Joseph P. Ross and Herrick Johnson.
Of this number, but two are living today, Cyrus H. McCormick and
William A. Douglas, the latter having served continuously as secretary
since the first meeting.
The first annual meeting was held April 14, 1884, and adjourned to April
21 to elect officers and appoint a medical board. Judge Samuel M. Moore
was elected president in place of Dr. Pearsons and Dr. Hamill was elected
vice-president in place of Mr. Henderson.
The first medical board was as follows :
Consulting physicians — Robert C. Hamill, J. Adams Alen and Charles
Gilman Smith.
Consulting surgeons — Ralph N. Isham and Roswell G. Bogue.
Consulting gynecologist — William H. Byford.
Attending physicians — Joseph P. Ross, Henry M. Lyman and Norman
Bridge.
Attending surgeons — Moses Gunn, Charles T. Parkes, David W. Graham
and E. W. Whitney.
Attending gynecologists — James H. Etheridge and Henry P. Merriman.
Diseases of children and obstetrics — De Laskie Miller and J. Suydam
Knox.
Eye and ear surgeons — Edward L. Holmes and Lyman Ware.
Dermatologists — J. Nevins Hyde and Robert D. MacArthur.
Attending physician, diseases of the throat — John A. Robison.
Resident physician — E. P. Davis.
Dr. Davis, although appointed as resident physician, served as medical
superintendent and interne. Dr. W. H. Sheldon was the first actual interne,
being appointed in February, 1885, although Dr. L. H. Prince served as
substitute for Dr. Sheldon for four months before the latter began his service.
Dr. Davis resigned in August, 1885, and later became the distinguished
professor of obstetrics in Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia. He was
succeeded as medical superintendent by Dr. Henry B. Stehman, who held
that position until he was compelled to resign on account of ill health
about 1900.
Of the original members of the medical board, five are still living, four
of these, Doctors Bridge, Graham, MacArthur and Robison, being identified
with the hospital as consultants. Dr. Whitney is living in Salt Lake
City, Utah.
The hospital was opened for patients in September, 1884, writh a nominal
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 279
capacity of eighty beds, but, as the nursing and hospital force had to be
housed in the building, not more than forty-five patients could be cared for
at any one time.
The number of patients admitted for the fragment of the opening year
was 241. For the entire year following the number of admissions was 493.
The increase has been steady and continuous since then, last year's (1921)
total admissions being 10,439, of which 3,726 paid only a part of their cost
and 2,534 were entirely free. The free work of the hospital is supported
first, by income from endowments ; second, , by profits from private room
patients, and third, by gifts from churches and individuals.
The first building, which fronted Wood Street, was called the "Ross
Wing" in honor of the founder of the hospital. An addition costing $12,000
and allowing an increase of thirty-five beds is recorded in the fifth annual
report. This was named the "Hamill Wing" in honor of Dr. Robert C.
Hamill, one of the chief promoters.
The sixth annual report records the erection of the "Daniel A. Jones
Memorial Building" and its dedication in April, 1889. A bequest of $10,000
in the will of Mr. Jones and the gift of $100,000 by his heirs were obtained
for the hospital largely through the influence of the first president of the
board of managers, Dr. D. K. Pearsons. This building occupies the south-
east corner of Congress and Wood streets and completes the original group
of buildings as projected by the first architect, Col. E. V. Shipman, in 1883.
In 1908 the Private Pavilion, adjoining the Jones Memorial Building on
the east, was erected at a cost of $300,000. It is used principally for private
room patients. The money -for this structure was given chiefly by members
of the board of managers and their immediate friends. The project was
undertaken after much importunity on the part of the medical board.
When the building of the Pavilion was under discussion more than one
member of the board of managers questioned wherein the eleemosynary
feature would be expressed in simple brick and mortar when members of the
medical board advocated putting money into these materials as an endow-
ment. The medical board almost had to guarantee that the new building
would be kept filled and that the income from such a building and invest-
ment would be several times that from money invested in bonds and mort-
gages. In this way, it was pointed out, the charity work of the hospital
would be correspondingly increased.
The next building, and the last to date, was the "Jane Murdoch Memorial,"
erected through the gift of $175,000 by the late Thomas Murdoch. It was
dedicated June 9, 1912. In a measure this building replaced the original
Ross and Hamill Wings and it is set apart for the use of women and children.
At a later date alterations and additions were made in the Jones Memorial
Building, as a result of which the entire hospital at the present time has
accommodations for 435 patients, or more than 450 under pressure.
It is a noteworthy fact that the Presbyterian Hospital in its conception,
construction and management for a number of years was wholly that of
the four physicians on the board of managers, together with their associates
of the medical staff. \Vhile the chief purpose in establishing the hospital,
as given in appeals to the public, wns to care for the acutely sick and injured,
the medical idea, as represented by the physician members of the board
of managers and their medical associates, was much broader in its scope.
Their purpose was not only to be as solicitous for the welfare of the acutely
280 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
sick and injured as any other class in the community, but also to make of
the hospital an active factor in the higher education of physicians for service
in the community and the education of physicians and the public along the
lines of prevention of sickness and in the conquest of disease throughout
this and every other land.
To this end cooperation between all the resources of the hospital and the
college in the way of research and diagnostic laboratories, in high class
X-ray equipment and superior training for internes and nurses has been
sought. Yet, after this exhibition of what medical men have accomplished
by, through and for the hospitals, it has been questioned in recent years
whether they should have any direct voice in the management of hospitals
and medical colleges.
With the opening of the hospital a training school for nurses was started,
but for lack of room in the hospital and for other reasons the plan was
abandoned and the Illinois Training School for Nurses was employed to
take charge of the hospital nursing. This arrangement, with a brief inter-
ruption, continued until 1903, when the present Presbyterian Hospital Train-
ing School for Nurses was established, with Miss Helena McMillan as
superintendent. She is still in that position.
A home for the new school was located at the northwest corner of Ashland
Boulevard and Congress Street. In 1913 the Sprague Home for Nurses was
built on Congress Street facing the hospital, with which it is connected by
an underground tunnel.
The school was among the first to inaugurate the eight hour shift for
pupil nurses. The course is three full years and from the beginning the
entrance requirements have been above the average. The school is a charter
member of the Central Council of Nursing Education. The number of pupil
nurses in training at present is 208.
The Presbyterian Hospital has been exceedingly fortunate in its superin-
tendents and executive officers. Dr. Henry B. Stehman came into service
when the hospital was young and had few friends and needed a management
which would coordinate and harmonize the clashing interests of the various
boards and patients, internes, nurses and medical men. He was responsible
more than any one man for the rapid growth of the hospital and its standing
in public favor.
Later, after several efforts to obtain a successor to Dr. Stehman, many of
the duties of the superintendent fell to Mr. Asa Bacon, a protege of Dr.
Pearson's who had been employed in the hospital in a clerical position. So
well did he perform these duties that he won the confidence of the board of
managers and the medical board and eventually was appointed superintend-
ent. He ranks high among the hospital superintendents of the day.
The hospital has had but seven presidents. Mr. Albert M. Day, the pres-
- ent incumbent, has administered the office for sixteen years with conspicuous
success. His experience has been unique in that he began it reluctantly
after retiring from a successful business career with a limited knowledge of
the responsibilities of his new position; unique also in the financial backing
he could command on occasions and in the amount of time and personal
attention he was able to render to every feature of the hospital. Above all,
there has been the growth of his conception as a layman of what the obliga-
tions of a hospital should be in collaborating with the medical profession for
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
281
the public welfare and high medical education. His service has been a
worthy example of what many other men similarly situated could and
should do.
The Woman's Auxiliary Board began with the hospital and it was through
the efforts of this organization in the collection of money and materials for
the making of sheets, pillow cases and other necessities that the hospital
was able to open its doors at the appointed time. The board is composed
chiefly of women sent as representatives from Presbyterian churches in
the city and suburbs, although it has an active general membership.
In the nearly forty years of its existence the board has collected and con-
tributed more than $400,000 toward the maintenance of the hospital. The
Training School for Nurses is one of its chief interests. It supports three
scholarships for student nurses, accepted candidates for missionary service,
and maintains a loan fund of indeterminate amount for the use of other stu-
dents needing financial aid to complete the course. It organized the Florence
Nightingale Chorus, the first of its kind in the country.
The first president of the Woman's Auxiliary Board was Mrs. D. C.
Marquis, to whose gift of organization much of its continued success is due.
(Photo by Gates)
GRANT HOSPITAL OF CHICAGO
551 Grant Place
GRANT HOSPITAL OF CHICAGO
Grant Hospital of Chicago, formerly the German Hospital, was organized
December 17, 1883. It is governed, maintained and supported principally by
Americans of German birth or extraction.
The hospital was opened in 1884 in a residence now 2225 Lincoln Avenue
with accommodations for thirteen patients.
In 1886 the present site was purchased from the Wesley Methodist Episco-
pal Church, which donated a part of the purchase price, and in 1887 the first
unit of the new hospital was erected. In 1890 two adjoining lots were pur-
chased, on which in 1897 a fireproof wing was erected. In the years imme-
diately following other improvements were made with the aid of various bene-
factions.
282
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGE* * IN CHICAGO
Construction of a new hospital plant was begun in 1912 and its doors were
opened for the reception of patients February 16, 1913. Since then several
auxiliary buildings have been erected. The equipment of the new hospital is
modern throughout. The number of patients cared for during 1921 was 4,113.
(Photo by Gates)
FRANCES E. WILLARD NATIONAL TEMPERANCE HOSPITAL
710 South Lincoln Street
FRANCES E. WILLARD NATIONAL
TEMPERANCE HOSPITAL
To demonstrate the possibility of curing diseases without the use of al-
cohol, the Frances E. Willard National Temperance Hospital was organized
in April, 1884. It was named in honor of the distinguished temperance ad-
vocate. A similar institution had existed in London for fifteen years and
its success gave the first suggestion to Dr. Mary Weeks Burnett of the prac-
ticability of establishing one in this country.
A building at 3411 Cottage Grove Avenue was leased March 15, 1886, and
put in order for the reception of patients. W'ith a capacity for ten persons
the institution was formally opened May 4, 1886.
The hospital organization was moved to 1619 Diversey Parkway on May
1, 1892, and was there for seven years. In 1900 the hospital was transferred
to 167 South Sangamon Street. Land had been purchased in 1896 at what
is now 710 South Lincoln Street for the erection of a permanent building.
Ten thousand dollars was left to the hospital by William Bush and this sum,
together with funds in hand, was sufficient to start the present building. A
loan of $35,000 was obtained and the hospital was built. The new building
was opened in 1904 with accommodations for forty patients. In 1913 an
addition of fifty rooms was erected and in the following year an additional
large amphitheater was constructed and opened in 1914. The hospital now
has one hundred and twenty beds. The number of patients admitted during
the first years was eighty-six. The number admitted in 1921 was 3,655.
The hospital training school was inaugurated in 1891 and the first class of
nine nurses was graduated in 1893. In 1910 the course of training was in-
creased to three years and at the present time there are forty nurses in
training.
283
CHILDREN'S MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
MAURICE PORTER AGNES WILSON
MEMORIAL MEMORIAL
735 Fullerton Avenue
CHILDREN'S MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
Component of a group of distinguished institutions of which the University
of Chicago and the Otho S. A. Sprague Memorial Institute are members,
the Children's Memorial Hospital was founded in 1884 by Mrs. Julia F.
Porter in memory of her son, Maurice Porter. Originally it bore the name
of the Maurice Porter Memorial Hospital for Children.
The original building was erected by Mrs. Porter on land contributed
by her at the northwest corner of P"ullerton Avenue and Orchard Street.
That structure normally accommodated about thirty patients, though from
the beginning urgent need compelled the hospital to receive a considerably
larger number than it was intended to provide for.
With the assent and cordial co-operation of Mrs. Porter the hospital was
reorganized in 1903 and the name changed to the Children's Memorial
Hospital. The institution then acquired nearly all of the triangular block of
land bounded by Fullerton Avenue, Orchard Street and Lincoln Avenue.
This property comprises about four acres of land easily accessible by several
lines of surface cars and by the Northwestern Elevated railroad.
The pavilion plan of construction was adopted by the hospital board of
directors in order to minimize the risk of contagion that would be present
to a considerable degree were a large central hospital constructed. Since
this decision was made three pavilions have been erected on the hospital
grounds, each strictly fireproof and planned after careful study of all that
has been accomplished in modern construction. These pavilions, in the
order of their construction are. the Maurice Porter Memorial, donated by
Mrs. Porter; the Cribside. built by the Cribside Society; and the Agnes
Wilson Memorial, founded by John P. Wilson in memory of his daughter,
Agnes Wilson. These buildings contain in the aggregate 175 beds and all
of the patients of the hospital are now cared for in these pavilions.
There had already been erected on the additional property acquired by
the hospital three apartment buildings which have been reconstructed and
284 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
made substantially into one building which constitutes the nurses' residence.
There are accommodations for sixty-four nurses.
The hospital is under the general control of a board of directors, which
appoints the medical and surgical staff of the hospital and designates the
superintendent and principal of the school of nursing. The internal manage-
ment of the hospital has from the beginning been under the jurisdiction of
a board consisting entirely of women and known as the auxiliary board.
This body is appointed annually by the board of directors. The medical
and surgical service at the hospital is under the control of the medical and
surgical staff of the hospital. All other activities of the hospital are under
the control of the auxiliary board.
In addition to the patients under regular treatment in the hospital wards
the hospital maintains a large out-patient department.
The importance of the thorough training of nurses led in 1908 to the
establishing of a school for nurses at the hospital, and special efforts have
been made to provide for them the best instruction and training. Lectures
and demonstrations are given to the student nurses by the members of the
medical and surgical staff of the hospital, and thorough and careful training
is given under the direction of the principal of the school of nursing and her
assistants. Arrangements have been made for a term of study by student
nurses in such subjects as chemistry, materia medica, anatomy, and physi-
ology, dietetics, hygiene, and sanitation, urinalysis, bacteriology, and essen-
tials of medicine at the University of Chicago. As the service of the nurses
at the hospital is limited to the care of children, arrangements have been
made for a term of service by all student nurses in adult training at other
training schools conducted by hospitals of the highest grade.
Under the direction of the social service committee, established in 1910, a
work of great importance is carried on in the investigation of the conditions
of the homes from which the children are brought to the hospital, and after
children are discharged as convalescent, members of this committee and of
the corps of nurses maintained by the committee visit these children in their
homes so as to secure so far as possible their complete restoration to normal
health.
Among the children at the hospital a considerable number while in the
convalescent stage are in condition to receive with advantage, both physical
and mental, a certain amount of instruction. An effective organization
known as the Junior Auxiliary has this part of the work of the hospital in
its charge. Four hours a day are devoted to instructive work and under the
supervision of two teachers the children become quite adept in basket weav-
ing, knitting and sewing. Classes in reading and writing are held for the
older convalescent children and suitable instructive games arranged for the
younger.
In the year 1912 an affiliation was consummated between the hospital and
the Otho S. A. Sprague Memorial Institute in pursuance of which the Institute
established at the hospital a department for the investigation of the diseases
and physiology of childhood. The Institute maintains at the hospital a
medical director and a staff engaged in research work. Included in the staff
of the hospital are two fellows maintained by the Institute, of whom one
is appointed by the board of directors as resident physician of the hospital
and the other assistant resident physician.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
285
Toward the close of the year 1919 an agreement was reached between the
University of Chicago and the Children's Memorial Hospital for affiliation
of the hospital with the university. This does not mean that there has
been in any sense or to any degree a merger of the hospital in the university.
In the preamble of the agreement it is expressly stated that the provisions
of the contract form "the basis of affiliation and co-operation under which
relations between said two corporations shall be entered into and main-
tained, each corporation expressly retaining and maintaining its several re-
sponsibilities and sole and separate obligations with respect to the carrying
out of the purpose for which it has been organized."
By the terms of this agreement the University agrees to make The Chil-
dren's Memorial Hospital a center for post-graduate work in the study and
treatment of diseases of children. As this will involve the making of the
staff of the hospital an important teaching body, the University has, by the
lerms of the agreement, the right to nominate to the board of the hospital
the merhbers of the medical and surgical staff of the hospital, including the
pathologist, and the board of the hospital agrees to appoint only persons so
nominated as members of the staff of the hospital. The board of the hos-
pital retains, however, the right to refuse to appoint any person a member
of the hospital staff not satisfactory to the board of the hospital. The agree-
ment is terminable at the election of either party upon one year's notice.
SWEDISH COVENANT HOSPITAL
2749 Foster Avenue
SWEDISH COVENANT HOSPITAL
The Swedish Covenant Hospital was organized May 1, 1886, by Rev-
erend C. A. Bjork and Messrs. S. Youngquist and H. Palmblad, with Dr.
C. W. Johnson as surgeon. The institution is under the control of the
Swedish Evangelical Mission Covenant of America. The hospital is gen-
eral in character, all classes of cases being admitted with the exception of
contagious diseases.
The institution was first housed in a dwelling, the capacity being nine
beds. Since the main structure was erected in 1915-16 the accommodations
have been raised to 125 beds. Twenty cases were cared for during the first
286
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
year of the hospital's existence and in 1921 the number of patients admitted
was 3,664.
(Photo by Gates)
ST. ELIZABETH'S HOSPITAL
1433 North Claremont Avenue
ST. ELIZABETH'S HOSPITAL
The corner stone of St. Elizabeth's Hospital was laid October 17, 1886, and
the first patient was admitted September 9, 1887. The hospital was organized
by the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ, the Sisters of that order having- con-
ducted the institution ever since.
At its opening, the hospital had a bed capacity of 100, which, with the addi-
tion of a wing to the original building, was increased to 225. All kinds of
cases except contagious are received. In the first year seventy-five patients,
of whom twenty-eight were considered charity cases, were cared for. In 1921
the number of patients admitted was 4,621, including 258 charity patients.
(Photo by Gates)
WESLEY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
2449 South Dearborn Street
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 287
* W E S L E Y MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
Wesley Hospital had its genesis in a thunderstorm.
One Sunday afternoon in August, 1888, Mr. and Mrs. Robert D. Fowler
were calling on the family of Dr. Isaac N. Danforth in their cottage at Lake
Bluff. Just as they were making preparations to leave, torrents of rain
began to descend, the lightning began to flash and thunders roared like
explosions of artillery. Mr. and Mrs. Fowler were obliged to remain until
the storm abated.
Dr. Danforth was intimately acquainted with Mr. Fowler. He knew
him to be a devout Methodist and that he gave freely of his wealth for all
good objects. He was always ready with his counsel in furthering works
of charity and he was never happier than when engaged in some work for
the relief of the sick and suffering.
"While the rain poured and the lightning flashed, I thought about the
hospital enterprise," said Dr. Danforth many years later. "I wondered
whether I could engage the interest of this splendid Englishman in the
undertaking. I knew that he was constantly besieged by solicitors for
charitable objects of all kinds and I presumed that there was a probable
limit both to his patience and to his ability to give away money. But the
falling rain and the flashing lightning and the roaring thunder seemed to
unite in urging me to make use of the opportunity that offered and which
might not offer again.
"And so I broached the subject to Mr. Fowler, much in doubt as to how
he would receive it. But I was greatly gratified at his response. He at
once conceded the necessity for a Methodist hospital and in the same breath
claimed that a Methodist orphanage was just as much needed.
"We conversed for some time as to the best method of proceeding and
I strenuously urged the practicability of beginning at once in a small way
in connection with our Training School for City, Home and Foreign Mis-
sions and our Deaconesses' Home, as the pupils- in the latter could do the
nursing, and at the same time get the necessary practical training in nurs-
ing the sick — so necessary to fit them for their own proper work as nursing
deaconesses.
"Mr. Fowler proposed that we ask H. N. Higinbotham to meet and con-
sult with us and suggested that I write to Mr. Higinbotham and ask him
to appoint an evening when he could meet us conveniently. I did so and
received a prompt and kind reply from Mr. Higinbotham inviting Mr.
Fowler and myself to meet him at his residence on the following Friday
evening.
"We met according to appointment and, as a consequence of this meeting
and a subsequent consultation between myself, Rev. Luke Hitchcock and
Rev. C. G. Truesdell, the call for a meeting of those we presumed would be
friendly to the establishment of a Methodist hospital was issued, the call
being written by myself but revised and changed in some minor points by
Mr. Higinbotham."
In response to the summons a number of representative Methodists met at
the Sherman House September 8, 1888, and determined to found a Methodist
hospital. Among those present were Rev. Truesdell, Dr. Danforth, Rev.
Hitchcock, Mr. Higinbotham, Mr. Fowler, E. W. Burke, Charles Busby, Mr.
*The basis of the earlier history of this hospital is a record of the institution by Dr. Weller Van Hook,
appearing in Volume Three of "Northwestern University, A History — 1855 to 1905," edited by Arthur
Herbert Wilde, Ph. D. The later history was furnished by officials of the hospital.
288 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
and Mrs. J. B. Hobbs, Rev. J. S. Meyer, Dr. B. W. Griffin, Dr. M. P. Hatfield,
George Elderkin, and J. S. Harvey.
Mr. Hobbs was chairman of the meeting. Dr. Danforth said a Methodist
hospital was a necessity for the honor of the denomination. The sick poor
of the church were now cared for by other denominations and obligations had
already been incurred which ought not to be increased. He said the pupils
in the Training School for City, Home and Foreign Missions required hos-
pital observation and experience -to fit them for their work. He said that
temporary quarters for half a dozen or more beds could be had in the build-
ing of the Training School for City, Home and Foreign Missions at Ohio
Street and Dearborn Avenue. The hospital would not require much money
at the start and would grow.
It was decided, therefore, to start a hospital and Dr. Danforth and Messrs.
Burke, Higinbotham, Harvey and Elderkin were appointed to obtain a char-
ter and report the names of a board of trustees at another meeting.
The Chicago Home for City, Home and Foreign Missions having offered,
through the Rev. J. S. Meyer and Mrs. Lucy R. Meyer, four rooms with sup-
port and care for patients, a second meeting for September 29 was called,
the hospital organization completed and an executive committee chosen.
This executive committee consisted of seven members, six of whom, Messrs.
Dyche, Danforth, Truesdell, Whitlock, Elderkin and Hatfield, were present.
The first patient, a poor woman, was admitted to the hospital on Thanks-
giving day, was attended by Dr. Danforth and nursed by the deaconesses.
During the next few months the number of patients rapidly increased at
great inconvenience to the training school so that, at a meeting of the board
of trustees, January 19, 1889, $2,000 was pledged, making possible the hiring
of a house at 355 Ohio Street to which patients could be removed.
The first superintending nurse was Miss E. J. McBurney; the house-
keeper, Miss A. E. Cox; and the warden and chaplain, the Rev. J. S. Meyer.
The nurses were furnished by the Chicago Deaconess Home and a medical
staff was appointed.
In spite of the fact that a considerale deficit existed between receipts and
expenditures for the first five months of the hospital's existence, plans for a
specially constructed hospital building were prepared in June, 1889. Early in
April, 1890, William Deering offered ground for a structure at Twenty-fifth
and Dearborn streets. The offer of Mr. Deering was accepted and a small two-
story brick building was erected to be used as a temporary hospital. The
deaconesses no longer supplied care for the patients and an independent
training school was organized.
The need of the Methodist church for a large and well equipped hospital
and the desirability of having in close proximity to the Northwestern Uni-
versity Medical School a place for the care of clinical patients induced all
interested to combine their efforts to erect upon the land donated by Mr.
Deering a building commensurate with the requirements of the situation.
The trustees of the hospital selected five men, R. D. Sheppard, William
Deering, N. W. Harris, G. F. Swift and J. B. Hobbs, to serve as a committee
with power to act in the matter of getting funds for the erection of the
required structure.
With the aid of numerous large and small donations the first building of
the present group was erected at a cost of $237,000. It was first occupied as a
hospital June 27, 1901.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
289
In the spring of 1906 the Harris Home for Nurses was erected, the home
being the gift of Norman W. Harris. The building is located in Dearborn
Street, one block north of the hospital.
In 1910 a large addition completing the original plans was erected. This
building contains, besides offices, class rooms and dining rooms, ten suites
and thirty-two private rooms.
A gift of $1,000,000 by James Deering in memory of his father, William
Deering, and his sister, Abby Deering Howe, greatly enlarged the hospital's
possibilities for good. The income alone from the benefaction may be used
and its employment is directed into the channel of aid to the sick only.
LAKESIDE HOSPITAL
3410 Rhodes Avenue
LAKESIDE HOSPITAL
Lakeside Hospital, said to be the first private general hospital established
in Chicago, was organized in 1890. The organizers wrere Doctors E. H. Dor-
land and N. H. Henderson, but since 1903 the hospital has been under the
control of Dr. A. Ralph Johnstone. In 1913 the hospital was moved from
its original quarters at 4147 Lake Park Avenue to 3410 Rhodes Avenue.
Originally there were forty-five beds, this number since being increased to
eighty. In its first year of operation the hospital cared for 250 patients, and
in 1920 the number of patients admitted was 2,574.
A training school of ten nurses at the beginning has been enlarged to
accommodate fifty nurses.
290
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
(Photo by Gates)
PROVIDENT HOSPITAL AND TRAINING SCHOOL
West Thirty-sixth and South Dearborn Streets
PROVIDENT HOSPITAL AND TRAINING
SCHOOL
Provident Hospital and Training School was founded and incorporated
January 23, 1891. Besides functioning as a general hospital, it was designed
to train colored women in the profession of nursing.
When founded, the hospital occupied a building at the corner of Twenty-
ninth and Dearborn streets. The work rapidly outgrew the limitations of
this building and in 1896 the hospital was removed to its present site at the
corner of Thirty-sixth and Dearborn streets. This building was enlarged in
1901 by the addition of large wards and a nurses' home. The present struc-
ture has a capacity of sixty-five beds.
The number of cases cared for in 1896 \vas 189 and in 1921, 1,211. The
scope of the institution's work was enlarged in 1918, when a post-graduate
school was organized in connection with the hospital to give colored medical
men an opportunity to increase their knowledge in the various branches of
their profession.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
291
(Photo by Gates)
EVANSTON HOSPITAL— MAIN BUILDING
2650 Ridge Avenue, Evanston
EVANSTON HOSPITAL
The Evanston Hospital, located on Ridge Avenue, north of Central Street,
Evanston, is owned and managed by the Evanston Hospital Association.
The association was organized in 1891, incorporated in the same year,
and the hospital was opened in 1892. The Evanston Hospital Association
was an outgrowth of the Evanston Benevolent Society, which, by reason
of the great number of calls upon it for hospital service, found it necessary
to adopt a more efficient form of organization.
The prime movers in the organization of the hospital were Mrs. Huse
Wilder, Mrs. Rebecca Butler, and Mr. John R. Lindgren, who was the
first president of the organization.
This association has controlled the hospital since. It is entirely a non-
sectarian organization. The hospital is a private institution operated for
the care of the sick. It receives no public funds and there are no stock-
holders. All of the income which the institution receives is used to carry
out the work of the hospital. All kinds of cases are admitted with the
exception of chronic or incurable ones.
Since the hospital was first opened in temporary quarters a number of
buildings have been built. The first building, known as the Administration
Building, was built in 1895. In 1901 a second building known as the Cable
Building was added. In 1906 a maternity building known as the Williams
Memorial was constructed. In 1910 Patten Hall, a home for nurses, was
constructed at the expense of Mr. James A. Patten, who has for years been
a most generous benefactor of the institution. In 1914 a power plant, laun-
dry, and service building for the housing of help, kitchens, ice plant, and
storage were added. In this same year a Contagious Building was added,
this also being the gift of Mr. Patten. In 1921 a new General Building, cos-t-
ing more than half a million dollars, was opened.
No written record exists of the number of beds at the time the hospital
first began its work, but it is supposed to have been about ten. From that
time the size of the institution has continually grown until at present it has
250 beds
292
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
In 1895 the first available records show the yearly work of the institution
to have covered the care of 36 patients. In 1921, just prior to the opening
of the new general building, the number cared for was 3,427.
It is not possible to tell exactly what proportion of the 36 patients who
appear in the first written record were charity. It is probable that most of
them were, as the hospital at that time was not sought by those of the com-
munity who were not applicants for charity. In 1921 there were 773 free
patients. About two-thirds of the total number paid less than the cost of
caring for them.
The hospital acquired its first interne in 1912 and at present has a house
staff of eight.
The total value of its property is about $1,000,000, and it has an endow-
ment fund of about $780,000.
The hospital possesses a Nurses' Training School whose growth has more
than kept pace with the growth of the institution as a whole. Competent
authorities have said that it is to be numbered among the three or four best
training schools in or about Chicago.
(Photo by Gates)
HOME FOR DESTITUTE CRIPPLED CHILDREN
1653 Park Avenue
HOME FOR DESTITUTE CRIPPLED CHILDREN
The Home for Destitute Crippled Children, affiliated with Rush Medical
College, was organized in 1891 and incorporated a year later. Only ortho-
pedic cases are admitted, and the patients are limited to children not more
than eleven years of age.
At its opening the Home contained about twenty beds, this number being
increased by additions to the original building to 120 beds at present. During
1921, 1,122 children were admitted for treatment, practically all of whom
were charity cases.
The Home conducts an out-patient department every afternoon except
Sunday.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
293
(Photo by Gates)
NORWEGIAN-AMERICAN HOSPITAL
1044 North Francisco Avenue
NORWEGIAN-AMERICAN HOSPITAL
The Norwegian-American Hospital Society of Chicago, to use the corpor-
ate title, was organized June 7, 1892, and on January 6, 1893 a charter was
obtained from .the state legislature. The hospital is conducted by the Nor-
wegian-Lutheran Tabitha Society of Chicago.
On December 3, 1895 the first patient was admitted to the hospital, which
in its first year of existence cared for 180 patients. At that time there were
only thirty-five beds, but with a five-story addition in later years the num-
ber of beds has been increased to 150.
Operating rooms, laboratories and a nurses' home have been added to the
hospital, which during 1921 cared for 4,656 patients. The hospital has a
medical library of 800 volumes.
(Photo by Gates)
ENGLEWOOD HOSPITAL
6001 South Green Street
294
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
ENGLEWOOD HOSPITAL
The first organization of Englewood Hospital was in 1893, when it was
opened with ten beds. In 1903 reorganization took place under the name of
the Englewood Hospital Association, a nonsectarian organization.
At that time a new building containing ninety beds was erected. The
capacity was increased to 150 beds with the building of a second unit in 1912,
and plans are now in preparation for a 100-bed addition. A nurses' home
was erected in 1920 at a cost of $70,000.
The number of patients cared for in 1921 was 4,363. The average per-
centage of charity work annually has been fifteen per cent of the total work.
Seventy per cent of the hospital beds are furnished to patients at less than
the cost of maintenance.
(Photo by Gates)
CHICAGO MATERNITY HOSPITAL
2314 North Clark Street
CHICAGO MATERNITY HOSPITAL
In 1893 the Chicago Maternity Hospital and Training School for Nurses
was organized by the directors of the Children's Aid Society of Chicago.
Among the directors were Harvey B. Hurd, president ; Jennie L. Wood,
secretary ; Dr. Sarah Hackett Stevenson, Mrs. Catherine Waugh McCulloch
and Dr. Effa V. Davis.
The hospital was opened May 30, 1894, and continued under the control of
the Children's Aid Society until 1897, when it became independent under its
own state charter. Dr. Sarah Hackett Stevenson became president of the
hospital association, of which there were twelve directors. Among these
were the late Mrs. Potter Palmer, Mrs. Amelia Shonts, Mrs. Emily Gross and
Mrs. Frank O. Lowden.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
295
In 1904 the hospital organization was disbanded and Dr. Effa V. Davis
took over the institution and has since conducted it as her private enterprise.
Only maternity cases and infant feeding cases are admitted to the hospital,
whose ideal from the beginning has been to teach young mothers the care
of babies and to keep the mother and baby together.
During its first year the hospital cared for fifty patients, this number
gradually being increased to 150 in 1921. The original number of ten beds
has been increased to twenty-two.
The Chicago Maternity Hospital was the first institution in the middle
west ,to establish a training school for infants' nurses, or "nursery maids,"
as they were called. It is the third oldest school of its kind in the United
States.
(Photo by Gates)
GARFIELD PARK HOSPITAL
3813 Washington Boulevard
GARFIELD PARK HOSPITAL
The Garfield Park Hospital had its origin in 1893, when it was opened as
a neurological sanitarium by Dr. H. P. Skiles. In 1900 he enlarged the in-
stitution and it became a general hospital.
The hospital remained under the ownership of Dr. Skiles until the fall
of 1919, when it was taken over by a corporation of physicians, including
Doctors George C. Amerson, Lucius B. Phelps, Leonard C. Schulze and John
J. Pflock. It was then reorganized and thoroughly equipped. At the present
time, plans are under way for a large modern building.
The hospital admits all kinds of cases except mental and contagious.
There are now seventy beds. During 1921 the number of patients cared for
was 2,771.
296
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
(Photo by Gates)
ST. MARY OF NAZARETH HOSPITAL
1120 North Leavitt Street
ST. MARY OF NAZARETH HOSPITAL
With the immense increase in the Polish population of Chicago in the early
nineties there arose, proportionately, a demand for an institution that could
take care of the ailing of that nationality in an institution conducted by
their own people.
The work of organizing and maintaining such a hospital was intrusted to
the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, then the only purely Polish com-
munity of the Roman Catholic church.
On May 1, 1894, Mother Mary Lauretta, the Provincial, called a meeting of
the following: Doctors Midowicz, Janczewski, Cerniewski, Lande and
Kuflewski. Mothers Lauretta, Paul and Columba were in attendance. At
this meeting the urgent need of a hospital was presented and Mother Lauretta
stated that she had a residence in view that she could procure for the use of a
hospital. Everyone present agreed to aid the project.
After appropriate dedicatory ceremonies a twenty-four bed hospital at
258 West Division Street was opened May 6, 1894.
The first chief of staff was Dr. Charles Gilbert-Davis. He was assisted by
Doctors F. J. Laibe, George Mueller and W. A. Kuflewski. After the staff
was organized Dr. Davis resigned and Dr. A. J. Ochsner took his place.
The rapid increase of patients compelled the Sisters to buy a neighboring
house and in this way they were able to accommodate twenty more patients.
After six years of effort the Sisters determined to build and equip a new
hospital, the permission for this purpose having been granted April 20, 1900.
The new site is the block bounded by North Leavitt Street, Haddon Avenue,
Thomas Street and Oakley Boulevard. The corner stone of the hospital was
laid June 16, 1901, and on March 19, 1902, the institution was opened.
The building is a fire-proof structure fronting on North Leavitt Street.
All classes of patients are admitted to the hospital except tubercular and
contagious. The number of cases cared for during 1921 was 4,960. Of these
about ten per cent were charity patients.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
297
(Photo by Gates)
CHICAGO LYING-IN HOSPITAL MOTHERS' AID PAVILION
426 East Fifty-first Street
CHICAGO LYING-IN HOSPITAL
The Chicago Lying-in Hospital and Dispensary, the second largest of its
kind in the United States, was founded in 1895 by Dr. Joseph B. De Lee.
The dispensary was started first on February 14, 1895, in a tenement house
at the corner of Maxwell Street and Newberry Avenue, where it occupied four
rooms. Dr. De Lee took up his residence there and the new institution was
supported by funds contributed by his friends.
The objects of the institution, as stated in its first charter issued in January,
1897, were "to provide proper medical care for poor women during confine-
ment at their own homes, to establish and maintain a hospital for the care of
such pregnant women as are without homes or need hospital care during con-
finement, to instruct students of medicine in the art of midwifery and to train
nurses in the care of women during confinement."
The dispensary in Maxwell Street took care of poor women during confine-
ment in their own homes and it trained doctors and nurses in the art of ob-
stetrics. Its work grew rapidly from 217 cases the first year until nearly 2,500
women and babies were being treated annually. More than 200 students and
doctors received instruction each year.
On September 2, 1899, a lying-in hospital was established in an old resi-
dence at what is now 515 South Ashland Boulevard. In 1901 the dispensary
was housed in a new building on the opposite corner of Maxwell Street. This
cost $15,000 and was made possible by an initial donation of $5,000 from Mrs.
A. Slimmer of Waverly, Iowa.
It was in 1901 also that the professorial heads of the departments of obstet-
trics of the three large medical schools of Chicago were invited to form the
medical staff and directors of the rapidly expanding institution. They were
Dr. J. C. Webster of Rush Medical College, Dr. Frank B. Earle of the College
of Physicians and Surgeons and Dr. Joseph B. De Lee of Northwestern Uni-
versity Medical School, already incumbent.
At the present time Dr. Frank Cary, Dr. Charles S. Bacon, and Dr. De Lee
comprise the senior staff and a large board of men and women manages the
affairs of the numerous departments.
298
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
In 1905 a branch dispensary was opened in connection with the Provident
Hospital to care for poor colored women in their own homes.
In November, 1914, the hospital in Ashland Boulevard was closed and the
first building of the new hospital group was opened at Fifty-first Street and
Vincennes Avenue. This building was opened by the Mothers' Aid Club. It
cost about $100,000 and had a bed capacity of 35 patients.
In 1915 a branch dispensary was established at Forty-seventh Street and
Emerald Avenue for the care of women of the Stock Yards district.
The main building of the lying-in institution was opened to the public on
August 15, 1917. This seven-story structure accommodates 124 mothers and
109 babies. At the same time the smaller building, called the Mothers' Aid
Pavilion, became a special hospital for the reception of complicated and des-
perate maternity cases such as are unwelcome in the general hospitals of the
city.
In 1919 two large apartment houses were acquired and remodeled into a
home for nurses with capacity of 100.
The institution as it stands today is the second largest maternity hospital
in the United States. It treats between 2,300 and 2,500 obstetric cases and
more than 200 gynecologic cases each year in its hospitals. Ten per cent of
these are free, 56 per cent are part pay and 34 per cent full pay. It treats an-
nually 1,400 to 2,000 maternity cases at homes, to which doctors and nurses
are sent. Practically all of these cases are free. It gives 225 medical stu-
dents and 25 physicians practical courses on obstetrics and grounds them well
in its science and art each year. It trains 100 nurses annually, giving them
four months' intensive obstetric practice and instruction in the care of babies
and in gynecology.
The institution also maintains a social service department.
The hospital and dispensary are maintained by contributions from the pub-
lic, annual memberships, endowments, patients' fees and students' tuition fees.
On occasion deficits have been supplied by balls and public entertainments.
In the first year the cost of running the dispensary was $1,250 and the as-
sets were about $200. The cost of maintaining all the properties in 1920 was
$250,414.26. Their value and the endowments totaled $1,250,000.
SOl'TH CHICAGO HOSPITAL
2323 East Ninety-second Street
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
299
SOUTH CHICAGO HOSPITAL
Authority to form a non-profit corporation to operate the South Chicago
Hospital was granted December 18, 1895, to Doctors Charles F. Swan, H.
W. Bernard and E. M. Webster and Rev. George H. Bird. Management of
the corporation was vested in a board of directors composed of the follow-
ing: E. F. Williams, M. D., Rev. George H. Bird, Charles E. Bacon, Charles
F. Swan, M. D., E. M. Webster, M. D., A, W. McLaughlin, M. D., and
H. W. Bernard, M. D.
Early in 1900 a site known as the Clark residence in Ninety-second Place
was purchased. The building was remodeled and opened as a hospital
October 17, 1900. Its capacity was fifteen beds. In 1907 two additional
lots were purchased adjoining the old hospital and the present structure was
built at a cost of $25,000. Its capacity is thirty-five beds and five cribs.
A training school for nurses is operated in connection with the hospital.
Plans are under consideration for the erection of a new hospital to cost
$400,000.
HOSPITAL OF ST. ANTHONY de PADUA
West Nineteenth Street and Marshall Boulevard
HOSPITAL OF ST. ANTHONY
d e PADUA
In November, 1896, the members of an association of Franciscan Sisters of
the Sacred Heart opened a hospital in the congested district in South Halsted
Street as this area was much in need of hospital facilities. The hospital oc-
cupied temporary quarters on the upper floors of a large business block and
was known as St. Agnes Hospital.
In June, 1897, the site of the present hospital was purchased and the follow-
ing November the erection of the present building was begun. The corner
stone was laid November 7, 1897. The building was a five-story, fire-proof
structure and accommodated seventy-five patients. The hospital was dedi-
cated on August 28, 1898, having in the meantime been chartered under the
name of St. Anthony de Padua. Patients were received in October; 1898.
In 1908 the capacity of the hospital was more than doubled. A new modern
fire-proof pavilion and dormitories for the Sisters, a chapel, a new kitchen and
300
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AMU SURGERY IN CHICAGO
four large wards were built. A laundry and boiler house were also erected at
this time. The number of cases handled during 1921 was 4,235.
WEST SIDE HOSPITAL
(Photo by Gates)
ILLINOIS POST GRADUATE MEDICAL SCHOOL
1844 West Harrison Street
WEST SIDE HOSPITAL OF CHICAGO
The West Side Hospital of Chicago, located on the northeast corner of
Harrison and Lincoln streets, opposite the Cook County Hospital, was organ-
ized as a corporation for profit on January 30, 1896. The first subscribers to
its capital stock were Drs. T. A. Davis, D. A. K. Steele, John B. Murphy,
Charles Davison, Edward W. Lee, S. G. West, H. P. Newman and George
N. Lyman. A few months later, Dr. Boerne Bettman, Dr. John J. Morrisey,
Dr. Alex. Wiener, Dr. Ralph Michel, Dr. W. L. Noble and Dr. George W.
Newton had secured stock and were appointed on the staff of the hospital.
Doctors Murphy, Davison, Davis, West and Steele constituted the first
board of directors in 1896. Dr. Steele was chosen president; Dr. Murphy,
vice-president; Dr. Davis, secretary, and Dr. Davison, treasurer.
At the annual meeting in 1898, Dr. Noble was elected to the board of
directors, succeeding Dr. Davis. During the next two years, the fourth and
fifth floors of the hospital were completed and equipped, additional land
extending to Lincoln Street was secured; and the staff was increased by
addition of Dr. F. S. Hartmann, Dr. Henry P. Conley and Dr. T. J. Conley.
In 1910, Dr. John S. Nagel succeeded Dr. T. J. Conley as treasurer and
two years later the Grace Hospital was absorbed by the West Side Hospital.
The same year the new fire-proof six-story building was erected, making
the total capacity of the hospital 150 beds.
The West Side Hospital has always maintained a standard training school
for nurses, and in one wing of the hospital is located its outpatient depart-
ment and the Illinois Post-Graduate Medical School. The hospital through-
out its entire existence has always maintained a post-graduate and under-
graduate teaching department conducted by the various members of the staff.
The West Side Hospital of Chicago has the distinction of being the first
hospital in the city of Chicago owned and conducted by physicians and sur-
geons.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
301
(Photo by Gatea)
LUTHERAN DEACONESS HOME AND HOSPITAL
1138 North Leavitt Street
LUTHERAN DEACONESS HOME AND
HOSPITAL
To establish a Deaconess Home and Hospital, the Norwegian Lutheran
Deaconess Society was organized February 17, 1896. The society was incor-
porated September 17 of the same year, the incorporators being Reverend
A. C. Anderson, Adolph Larson and Dr. N. T. Quales. The Norwegian
Lutheran Deaconess Home and Hospital was established May 1, 1897, in
two rented buildings at North Artesian Avenue and Le Moyne Street. The
plant comprised twenty-five rooms and was operated at this location until
May 24, 1903.
In the spring of 1900 the deaconess society bought property at the corner
of Leavitt Street and Haddon Avenue and upon this site the nucleus of the
present establishment was erected. It had a capacity of fifty beds and was
opened for the reception of patients May 24, 1903.
In November, 1904, all the property of the Norwegian Lutheran Deacon-
ess Society was conveyed to the United Norwegian Lutheran Church of
North America. Since then the church has elected a board of directors for
the institution, who are entrusted with the administration of its affairs. A
second addition to the hospital, which brought the total accommodation for
patients up to one hundred, was dedicated November 20, 1910, and present
plans provide for additions which will raise the total capacity for patients
to 250.
In 1920 the synod decided to drop the designation "Norwegian" from the
name of the institution so that its appellation now is the Lutheran Dea-
coness Home and Hospital.
In its first year the hospital, while located in North Artesian Avenue,
cared for 102 patients. In 1921 it cared for 2,997 patients.
302
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
(Photo by Gates)
PEOPLES' HOSPITAL
253 West Twenty-second Street
PEOPLE'S HOSPITAL
The People's Hospital and Training School at Twenty-second Street and
Archer Avenue was founded November 1, 1897.
The organizers were Doctors I. Clark Gary, G. G. Burdick, George W.
Webster, L. N. Barlow, William E. Morgan, R. Kewley, Frank T. Andrews,
R. W. Carter, C. H. Lodor, M. F. Murray, D. W. Eiss, A. L. Thomas, W. A.
Peterson, L. W. Matthei and L. Wilkinson.
Since its establishment the hospital has been conducted and owned by
Dr. Gary. Dr. Gary is a graduate of the medical department of Northwestern
University. After he received his degree he began practice in the densely
populated district of which Archer Avenue and Twenty-second Street was
the center. His office was in the building which, in 1897, he transformed
into hospital quarters.
In 1906 plans for a new hospital were broached, and were consummated
in 1911, when a $60,000 structure was erected on the site of the former
institution.
The building is four stories high, 40 by 100 feet, of brick construction and
fireproof throughout. The hospital has a capacity of fifty beds.
Since its beginning the hospital has received more than 10,000 bed cases
and 20,000 personal injury cases.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
303
(Photo by Gates)
JEFFERSON PARK HOSPITAL
1402 West Monroe Street
JEFF ER SON PARK HOSPITAL
The Jefferson Park Hospital, 1402 West Monroe Street, a private institu-
tion, was organized by Dr. John Dill Robertson in August, 1900. Except
contagious and mental, all kinds of cases are admitted. The initial capacity
of the hospital was fifteen beds and now there are one hundred. The num-
ber of cases cared for during the first year was 210 and in 1921, 1,807.
The Jefferson Park Hospital was affiliated with the Bennett Medical Col-
lege from 1907 to 1911, and with the medical department of Loyola Uni-
versity from 1911 to 1915. The hospital conducts a training school for
nurses. The course of instruction is two years. A nurses' home is main-
tained in connection with the hospital.
(Photo by Gates)
ST. FRANCIS HOSPITAL
355 Ridge Avenue, Evanston
304
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
ST. FRANCIS' HOSPITAL, EVANS TON
Under the control of the Sisters of St. Francis Seraph, St. Francis' hos-
pital, 355 Ridge Avenue, Evanston, was established in January, 1901. The
institution is private, all classes of patients being received except those suf-
fering from contagious, mental or tubercular diseases. The bed capacity is
100. The number of cases cared for in the first year was 70 and in 1921,
2,295.
St. Francis' Training School for Nurses was organized in the summer of
1919, a three years' course being adopted.
(Photo by Gates)
JOHN McCORMICK INSTITUTE
FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASES
637 South Wood Street
DURAND
HOSPITAL
JOHN McCORMICK INSTITUTE FOR
INFECTIOUS DISEASES AND THE
DURAND HOSPITAL
The John McCormick Institute for Infectious Diseases was founded by
Harold F. McCormick and Edith Rockefeller McCormick, January 2, 1902.
The full original name was "The Memorial Institute for Infectious Diseases,
founded in memory of John Rockefeller McCormick" ; in 1918 the name was
changed to the present form.
The following persons secured the incorporation of the Institute under
the laws of the State of Illinois and constituted the first Board of Trustees :
Doctors Frank Billings, Christian Fenger and Ludvig Hektoen and Messrs.
Charles L. Hutchinson and Stanley McCormick. In the articles of incor-
poration the object of the Institute is stated to be "the study and treatment
of scarlet fever and other acute infectious diseases and the investigation of
allied problems."
Early in 1902 work was commenced in the laboratory building of Rush
Medical College at 1743 West Harrison Street, Chicago, the first floor of
which was fitted up with a simple equipment for bacteriological and patho-
logical investigations. The first staff consisted of Doctors Ludvig Hektoen,
George H. Weaver, Alice Hamilton and George F. Ruediger.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
305
Simultaneously, an arrangement was made with the Presbyterian Hos-
pital of Chicago for the establishment of a small hospital for scarlet fever.
This hospital was conducted for about three years, when the buildings it
occupied were removed to make room for a new pavilion of the Presbyterian
Hospital.
In the meantime, efforts were made by the Trustees of the Institute to
secure a suitable location for building a hospital for infectious, diseases. In
1904 Mr. Otto Young, who died soon afterwards, gave to the Institute the
larger part of a vacant block just west of Washington Park in Chicago, and
anticipating the erection of buildings on this land, the Institute purchased
the remainder of the block. On account of the. opposition by owners of
surrounding property and of the hostile attitude of the City Council of
Chicago, this plan was abandoned and the property sold.
After the death of Dr. Christian Fenger in 1902, Dr. Llewellys F. Baricer
was elected trustee ; and the vacancy on the board created by Dr. Barker's
removal to Baltimore in 1908 was filled by the election of Dr. James B.
Herrick.
(Photo by Gates)
DURAND HOSPITAL
In March, 1911, an affiliation was entered into by the Institute with the
Northern Trust Company of Chicago, as Trustee under the will of Mrs.
Annie W. Durand, pursuant to a decree of court giving a construction of the
will. Under this decree and a supplemental decree the Northern Trust
Company, as Trustee, agreed to erect on ground furnished by the Institute
a hospital to cost $200,000 and to be known as the Annie W. Durand Hos-
pital of the Memorial Institute for Infectious Diseases. The Institute agreed
to conduct the Durand Hospital with a minimum eventually fixed at forty
beds for the free care of poor persons suffering with infectious diseases.
The contract of affiliation, which runs for ninety-nine years, further provides
that the net income from funds placed in the hands of the Northern Trust
Company by the will of Mrs. Annie W. Durand shall be used for defrayal
of the cost of running the Durand Hospital and that any and all deficiency
shall be made good by the Institute.
306 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
The City Council of Chicago on March 6, 1911, relinquished all claims to
a fund of $75,000 given by Mrs. Annie W. Durand for a public bathhouse,
in order that this money might also be used for hospital purposes according
to the general provisions of the contract just mentioned. In order to pro-
vide sites for the Durand Hospital and for other buildings, the Institute
secured the larger part of the block bounded by Harrison, Wood and
Flournoy streets and Hermitage Avenue, at a cost of $152,000.
During 1912 a modern, fireproof hospital building and powerhouse were
erected by the Northern Trust Company on the corner of Wood and Flour-
noy streets according to plans by Mr. C. S. Frost of Chicago. The formal
opening took place February 27, 1913, and patients were received immediately
afterwards.
During the following year, a laboratory was built, also according to plans
by Mr. Frost, at a cost of approximately $100,000. The laboratory stands
just north of the Durand Hospital, and is connected with it on the second
and third floors by means of an enclosed gallery. Both buildings are served
by the same power-house and laundry. The transfer of the work to the
new laboratory from the temporary quarters at 1743 West Harrison Street
was made in May, 1914.
As the present laboratory and hospital buildings occupy only about one-
third of the ground owned by the Institute in the block described, abundant
space is available for additional buildings.
In 1912, Mr. Harold F. McCormick gave to the institute a farm at Lom-
bard, Illinois, to be used for the breeding of laboratory animals and the
supplying of farm products. Owing to the growth of the village of Lombard
this land was sold.
In addition to the gift of Mr. Otto Young of land valued at $100,000,
gifts have been received also from Madam Cyrus H. McCormick.
At the present time, the total resources of the Institute, including the
Durand Hospital and Fund, amount to nearly $2,000,000, the larger part
of which has been contributed by the founders.
The purpose of the Institute is to advance the knowledge of infectious
diseases in order to improve the methods of prevention and cure and also
to care for patients suffering from certain common, acute, infectious dis-
eases. To this end, the work of the laboratory and of the hospital has been
coordinated and unified so as to secure the most complete cooperation
possible.
The laboratory building is a fireproof structure of four stories and a base-
ment which is half above ground. The general equipment is essentially
that required for bacteriological, immunological and pathological investiga-
tions. No provisioji is made for formal instruction. Persons, who give prom-
ise of making good use of the opportunity, may be appointed as volunteer
workers. Ordinarily, regular full-time appointments on the staff with
stipend are made only as vacancies occur.
The Durand Hospital is a fireproof structure of four stories, sunrooms
and roof garden, and a basement one-half of which is above ground. The
hospital has been specially designed for the care of acute, infectious diseases.
Under the contract between the Institute and the Northern Trust Com-
pany, as Trustee under the will of Mrs. Annie W. Durand, no charge can
be made to patients for the care and treatment in the Durand Hospital.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
307
According to this contract only poor patients can be admitted. At present
patients with diphtheria, scarlet fever, measles, and other acute infectious
diseases ordinarily classed as contagious are received. The Health Depart-
ment of the City of Chicago determines the question of admissibility and
brings the patients to the hospital.
The Serum Division was established in 1905 by the cooperation of Dr.
E. O. Jordan, who was in charge of the work, with the Institute. The pur-
pose of this division was the production of diphtheria antitoxin and its sale to
the public at cost as well as the provision of possibilities for work with large
animals. About 100,000,000 antitoxin units were distributed annually. Its
purpose being accomplished when the city and state furnished antitoxin free
to those unable to pay for it, the Division was discontinued.
In 1904, Mr. and Mrs. Harold F. McCormick made it possible to establish
the Journal of Infectious Diseases, which is devoted to the publication of
the results of investigations in the field indicated by its name. It aims to
occupy a special field and to include only such contributions as bear with
reasonable directness upon the topics indicated in the title. The biology
and chemistry of the various pathogenic microorganisms, the physiology
and anatomy of the morbid processes that they initiate, and the hygienic
and sanitary problems to which they give rise are considered to be espe-
cially within the scope of the undertaking.
The Journal is published bi-monthly. Two volumes are issued each year,
and each volume contains approximately 500 pages.
Since the foundation of the Institute, Dr. Ludvig Hektoen has been its
director, and Dr. George H. Weaver has been physician-in-charge of the
Durand Hospital since its organization.
(Photo by Jahn and Oilier Engraving Co.)
ST. ANNE'S HOSPITAL
4900 Thomas . Street
308
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
ST. ANNE'S HOSPITAL
St. Anne's Hospital is conducted by the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ.
The institution, general in character, was dedicated June 1, 1903.
The capacity of the hospital is 100 beds, but plans are under way for addi-
tions to the hospital building which will increase the number of beds to a
considerable extent.
During the first year of the hospital's existence 350 patients were handled,
about one-third of whom were treated without charge. During the past year
2,885 patients were cared for.
St. Anne's Hospital is affiliated with Loyola University School of Medi-
cine. The hospital is elaborately equipped throughout, including modern
X-ray and pathological laboratories.
(Photo by Gates)
ST. BERNARD'S HOSPITAL
6337 Harvard Avenue
ST. BERNARD'S HOSPITAL
St. Bernard's Hotel Dieu Hospital was organized in 1903 by the Rev.
Bernard P. Murray and Sisters Annie Hopkins, Elizabeth Norris, Mary of
the Sacred Heart, Helen Jarrell and G. Leahy. It was opened November
21, 1903, and has since been under the control of the order of the Religious
Hospitalers of St. Joseph.
Opening with thirty beds, the hospital by various additions has increased
its capacity to 200 beds. During the first year 1,200 patients were admitted,
and in 1921 the number of patients cared for was 6,894. One hundred and
eight of the first year's patients were considered as charity cases, and in
1921 there were 752 charity cases, of which 412 paid in part.
In recent years a modern nurses' home, accommodating seventy-five
nurses, has been built. The hospital is crowded to its capacity, and a re-
quest for a new wing has been made by the medical staff.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
309
EVANGELICAL DEACONESS HOSPITAL
408 Wisconsin Street
EVANGELICAL DEACONESS HOSPITAL
The Evangelical Deaconess Hospital is controlled by the Deaconess
Society of the Evangelical Society of America. The Deaconess Society
was incorporated April 1, 1904, with the following as members of the
managing board : Thomas Bowman, J. C. Kiest, A. J. Voegelein, J. C.
Brendel, G. M. Hallwachs, Mrs. Sarah Stroebel and Mrs. S. J. Gamerts-
felder.
The hospital is a public institution and admits, generally speaking, all
cases except those of a contagious nature. The hospital has a capacity of
forty beds. During the year from September 1, 1920, to September 1, 1921,
1,082 patients were admitted. A nurses' training school is maintained.
Chanty work is performed in proportion to the bed capacity and the needs
of worthy individuals.
A deaconess home costing $145,000 was erected at the corner of Wis-
consin Street and Hudson Avenue and was dedicated September 20, 1921.
It is exceptionally well equipped. At the present time plans for a new
hospital building to cost $500,000 are under consideration.
C O L U M BU S HOSPITAL
At the request of Archbishop Ouigley of the Chicago archdiocese, Rev.
Mother Frances X. Cabrini of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart
undertook the establishment of Columbus Hospital.
310
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
(Photo by Gates)
COLUMBUS HOSPITAL
2548 Lake View Avenue
The hospital was organized February 25, 1905, and was opened August
3, 1905. Its capacity was 100 beds. During the first year 657 patients were
cared for, of whom 82 were charity cases.
In 1919 a new wing of seven stories was constructed and with elaborate
ceremony it was dedicated March 11, 1920, by Archbishop George W.
Mundelein. The addition contains fifty suites of rooms, lecture halls, five
operating rooms and several dressing, sterilizing and rest rooms. The
number of patients cared for in 1921 was 3,246, of whom 737 received
free care.
Need for a hospital to care for the Italians of the west side prompted
Mother Cabrini to build the Columbus Extension Hospital at 809 Lytle
street, which was opened July 16, 1911. A new building is in process of
construction. This will accommodate 200 patients.
. ST. FRANCIS' HOSPITAL
Gregory and York Streets, Blue Island
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
311
ST. FRANCIS' HOSPITAL, BLUE ISLAND
At the suggestion of Monsignor F. A. Rempe, then pastor of St. Bene-
dict's Church, Blue Island, the Sisters of St. Mary established St. Francis'
Hospital in that city March 25, 1905. The institution was in charge of
Sister M. Alexia, superior, who was assisted by ten Sisters. Up to the end
of 1905 the number of patients treated was 189, including 22 charity cases.
Erection of the present hospital, a five-story structure, was begun in
1914. The edifice was completed in May, 1916, and was dedicated by Arch-
bishop George W. Mundelein. The hospital has accommodations for 100
patients and is equipped with all modern improvements.
During the year 1921 there were 1,700 patients cared for. At present
twenty-three Sisters form the personnel of the institution. A medical staff
was organized in 1920.
(Photo by Eugene J. Hall)
OAK PARK HOSPITAL
525 Wisconsin Avenue, Oak faric
OAK PARK HOSPITAL
The Oak Park Hospital Association was organized October 1, 1905, by a
group of Oak Park doctors. The chairman of the committee in charge of
the preliminary work was Dr. John W. Tope. Dr. Tope effected arrange-
ments with the Sisters of Misericorde of Montreal, whereby the latter were
to conduct a hospital to be known as the Oak Park Hospital and Training
School for Nurses of the Sisters of Misericorde.
The corner stone of the institution was laid July 2, 1906, and in the begin-
ning of March, 1907, the hospital was opened for the reception of patients.
The first president of the hospital association and also the superior of the
hospital was Mother St. Lawrence. Dr. Tope, now deceased, was the first
chief of the Oak Park Hospital staff. The institution is private and for the
past six years has been affiliated with Loyola University School of Medicine.
The hospital contains one hundred beds. The number of patients cared
for in the first year (ten months) was 462. The number handled in 1921
was 3,500.
312
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
(Photo by Gates)
RAVENSWOOD HOSPITAL
1917 Wilson Avenue
RAVENSWOOD HOSPITAL
The Ravenswood Hospital was organized November 1, 1905, by Doctors
George W. Green, G. N. Bussey and E. A. Featherstone. Construction of the
building was begun in 1906 and the institution was opened for the recep-
tion of patients January 10, 1907. The hospital was reincorporated in 1910
as an institution not for profit.
The hospital has accommodations for forty-two patients. The number of
patients cared for during the first year was 502 and in 1921 it was 1,600.
The average number of charity patients has been about ten per cent of the
whole.
EDWARD SANATORIUM OF CHICAGO TUBERCULOSIS INSTITUTE
Main Building — Naperville, 111.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 313
THE CHICAGO TUBERCULOSIS INSTITUTE
The Chicago Tuberculosis Institute was organized January 27, 1906, and
was regularly incorporated March 17, 1906. It came into being as the result
of the anti-tuberculosis campaign of the Chicago Visiting Nurse Association
during the three previous years.
The objects for which the Institute was organized were: The prevention
and treatment of consumption and other forms of tuberculosis by the fol-
lowing methods :
1. The collection and dissemination of exact knowledge in regard to the
causes, prevention and cure of the disease.
2. The promotion of legislative and other measures for the improvement
of living conditions.
3. The treatment of the tuberculous in dispensaries, clinics, sanatoria or
in such other institutions as may be established for that purpose or by such
other means as may be considered feasible and desirable.
The first principal activity of the Institute was the establishment of the
open air camp (Camp Norwood) on the grounds of the County Hospital for
Consumptives at Dunning. At this place, from September 1, 1906, to March
31, 1907, twenty patients were successfully treated in the open air. This
was the first demonstration that good results could be obtained in *he treat-
ment of pulmonary tuberculosis in the Chicago climate. The physicians in
charge of this work were Dr. Theodore B. Sachs and Dr. Ethan Allen Gray.
Directly following the close of Camp Norwood came the donation by Mrs.
Keith Spalding to the Institute of the newly erected Edward Sanatorium.
Dr. Sachs was placed in sole charge of the institution, whose director he
remained until his death in 1916.
The Sanatorium is located at Naperville, Du Page County, Illinois, and
accommodates 115 patients. It now takes patients in all but the very far
advanced stages of tuberculosis. Succeeding Dr. Sachs in the direction of
the Sanatorium were Dr. O. W. McMichael, Dr. Herbert W. Gray, Dr.
Wilson Ruffin Abbott and the present incumbent, Dr. James A. Britton.
In 1907 a chain of dispensaries was established under the direction of Dr.
Ethan A. Gray. These dispensaries offered treatment, advice and other
assistance to needy consumptives. The dispensary system was transferred
to the Municipal Tuberculosis Sanitarium in 1910.
The Institute took an active part in the securing of the "Glackin Law,"
which provides for the establishing of tuberculosis sanatoria in municipali-
ties in Illinois. This last mentioned work and the erection, subsequently,
of the Municipal Tuberculosis Sanitarium in Chicago, must be placed, in
largest measure, to the credit of Dr. Sachs.
Further, the Institute has conducted outdoor schools, supplied milk to
under-nourished school children and has made, through its committee on
factories, a study of working conditions in Chicago; it has established and
supported the Robert Koch Society for the Study of Tuberculosis; it made,
in 1912, a survey of conditions in the tuberculosis institutions of Cook
County, with the result that adequate provision was made for the care of
tuberculous patients in these public hospitals for the first time in the history
of the country.
More lately, the Institute has established a nursing service in Cook County
outside the city of Chicago. The nurses of this service, while ostensibly
tuberculosis nurses, are more nearly public health nurses, for their work
314
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
has broadened to such an extent that the staff is called upon to render other
service than that pertaining exclusively to tuberculosis. The Institute has
always held that among its important duties is that of spreading the knowl-
edge and gospel of health. To this end innumerable talks, discussions,
lecture courses and exhibitions have been given to the general public. Most
important have been the lecture courses to nurses directed by Mrs. Theo-
dore B. Sachs.
In the first years of its existence the Institute was supported by con-
tributions; however, since 1908 the Christmas Seal sale has supplied suffi-
cient funds for its maintenance.
The present president of the Institute is Dr. Thomas E. Roberts. Former
presidents have been Doctors Frank Billings, who served from the date of
organization until January, 1907; Henry B. Favill (January, 1907, to Janu-
ary, 1913), Theodore B. Sachs (January, 1913, to April, 1916), Robert H.
Babcock (April, 1916, to January, 1921), and Ethan Allen Gray (January,
1921, to January, 1922).
Among others who have taken an active part in the affairs of the Institute
are Doctors Arnold Klebs, William E. Quine, William A. Evans, Edwin W.
Ryerson, John Ritter, Stephen R. Pietrowicz and Clarence L. Wheaton and
Mrs. James Houghteling, Mrs. E. C. Dudley, Mr. George W. Perkins and
Mr. H. W. Bang.
GERMAN EVANGELICAL DEACONESS HOSPITAL
5421 South Morgan Street
GERMAN EVANGELICAL DEACONESS
HOSPITAL
The German Evangelical Deaconess Hospital is operated by the Evangeli-
cal Deaconess Society of Illinois, which was organized in June, 1906, and
incorporated under the laws of Illinois in September of the same year. The
doors of the present hospital were opened August 15, 1911.
The first trustees were the Reverend Messrs. B. C. Ott, L. Kohlmann,
Herman Mueller and P. Foerster and Mr. F. Kressman.
315
The institution is now controlled by the Northern Illinois District Con-
ference of the German Evangelical Synod of North America. The 'hospital
is open to the public at large; all patients except those suffering from con-
tagious diseases are received.
A nurses' home was built in 1914. It was enlarged three years later and
accommodates forty-one nurses.
The present hospital has a capacity of sixty beds, but plans are being
made for an addition to the edifice which will make it posible to take care
of at least one hundred more patients.
The number of patients treated in the first years of the hospital's exist-
ence was barely more than 800, but year after year this number was in-
creased and reached a total of 1,970 in 1921.
NORTH CHICAGO HOSPITAL
NORTH CHICAGO HOSPITAL
The North Chicago Hospital, 2551 North Clark Street, was organized and
incorporated in 1906 by Doctors Carl, Emil G., Joseph C. and Rudolph Beck
and Bernard G. Katz. It was designed to afford the organizers facilities for
the treatment of their own surgical cases and to provide a place in which to
do original research work in connection with their clinical activities.
The institution when first organized had twenty beds, offices and two
operating rooms. It was enlarged in 1910 to a fifty-bed hospital and four
years later the plant equipment was increased to include forty additional
beds and a clinical building.
The hospital is non-sectarian. While it is not a charity institution, many
patients have been treated free of charge for medical services and their
board and room given gratis.
While the hospital is primarily an institution for surgical work, medical
and obstetrical cases are admitted, with the exception of alcoholic and con-
tagious diseases.
316
HISTORY OF MF.DTCTNF. AND SURGERY TN CHICAGO
(Photo by Gates)
WASHINGTON PARK HOSPITAL
437 East Sixtieth Street
WASHINGTON PARK HOSPITAL
The. Washington Park Hospital was established September 30, 1906, by
Dr. C. O. Young, as a private institution.
All cases except mental and contagious are treated. The bed capacity
was increased from twenty in 1906 to 120 at the present time. Accommo-
dations for 200 patients altogether will be provided upon the completion of
a four-story addition.
The number of cases cared for during the first year was 750 and in 1921
4,802 cases w7ere handled.
(Photo by Gates)
UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL
432 South Lincoln Street
UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL OF CHICAGO
The University Hospital of Chicago was founded July 17, 1907, by Doctors
Charles Davison, Edward Louis Heintz, D. A. K. Steele, Lewis J. Hammers
and Charles S. Bacon, members of the faculty of the medical department
of the University of Illinois, to give better opportunities, surroundings and
care for their private patients absolutely under their own direction.
317
Although the hospital was privately financed, it is affiliated with the
University of Illinois College of Medicine by contract with the board of
trustees of the university.
The schedule of the college includes clinical instruction to its students
in the amphitheatre and wards of this hospital by members of the attending
medical staff and their assistants.
The hospital is located at the corner of Ogden Avenue, Lincoln and
Congress Streets, directly across the street from the College of Medicine.
The building is of reinforced concrete, fireproof, sanitary construction, with
a capacity of 110 beds.
Its clinical laboratories are thoroughly equipped with modern facilities
for the diagnosis and study of disease.
The nursing service is provided by the University Hospital School of
Nursing, which operates under a separate charter and occupies a separate
building adjoining the Hospital.
Because of the relations between the University Hospital and the Uni-
versity of Illinois College of Medicine, the students of the School of Nursing
enjoy certain educational privileges at the medical college and are graduated
at its annual commencement.
(Photo by Gates)
ROBERT BURNS HOSPITAL
3807 Washington Boulevard
ROBERT BURNS HOSPITAL
In 1907 physicians of Scottish birth or descent organized a hospital to
which was given the name of the "Hieland poet," Robert Burns. The or-
ganizers were Doctors Alexander A. Whamond and Fred G. Whamond and
Joseph Mills.
The hospital was opened July 15, 1907 with a capacity for twenty-five
beds, which has since been increased to forty beds. It is a private institu-
tion handling obstetrical, surgical and medical cases.
At the present time, it is stated, the building is too small to accommodate
all who apply, and plans are under way for a large addition. With its
name and organization, the institution is considered virtually a Scottish
hospital.
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
HENROTIN HOSPITAL
939 North La Salle Street
H EN ROT IN HOSPITAL
In 1905 Dr. Fernand Henrotin, then president of Chicago Policlinic, sug-
gested the establishment of a hospital in affiliation with the existing institu-
tion. With funds procured from the faculty and from the sale of bonds the
hospital project was launched and, under the name of Henrotin Memorial
Hospital (following the death of Dr. Henrotin in December, 1906), was
opened for the reception of patients November 8, 1907, at 939 North LaSalle
Street. The institution is entirely under the control of the Chicago Policlinic.
Its bed capacity is 65. The number of patients cared for in the first year
was 550. In 1920 the number had increased to 1,888. Charity cases are
referred to the Chicago Policlinic, which has a capacity of 50 beds. It is
planned to erect an addition to Henrotin Hospital at the corner of North
Clark and Oak streets, which will contain 150 beds. In 1920 $300,000 was
subscribed for this purpose.
(Photo by Gates)
AMERICAN HOSPITAL
850 Irving Park Boulevard
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
319
AMERICAN HOSPITAL OF CHICAGO
The American Hospital of Chicago was opened for the reception of patients
in 1908. It is under the control of physicians who are members of the hos-
pital staff, the president of the board of trustees being Dr. Max Thorek.
All kinds of cases are admitted, except mental and infectious. At the be-
ginning there were forty beds, and the capacity has since been increased to
175 beds.
Five hundred patients were cared for during the first year, and in recent
years the number of patients has exceeded 5,000 annually. The percentage
of charity cases was two per cent at the beginning, and in recent years the
average has been twenty-five per cent.
MUNICIPAL TUBERCULOSIS SANITARIUM
North Crawford and Bryn Mawr Avenues
View of Buildings from Southwest
MUNICIPAL TUBERCULOSIS SANITARIUM
Research conducted by Dr. Theodore B. Sachs among the poor of the
west side disclosed the imperative need for institutional treatment of tuber-
culosis in Chicago and it was from his activities in this behalf that the
Municipal Tuberculosis Sanitarium found its genesis.
After a two years' internship at Michael Reese Hospital Dr. Sachs
opened an office at Twelfth and Halsted streets in order to serve the sick
poor both in private practice and in the clinics of the Jewish Aid Dispensary.
In 1900 he established a tuberculosis clinic at the Jewish Aid Dispensary,
the first in Chicago to be devoted exclusively to the examination and treat-
ment of pulmonary tuberculosis ; here he served more than ten years.
In 1903 Dr. Sachs began the first of three intensive studies of the prev-
alence and incidence of tuberculosis among children of tuberculous parents
in a small congested area near his office. The first two studies covered
periods of 18 and 24 months; charts of these surveys made in collaboration
with his wife, Mrs. Lena Louise Wilson Sachs, received honorable mention
at the International Tuberculosis Congress in Washington in 1908. The
third report involved the study of several hundred children.
The work of Dr. -Sachs appealed with especial force to State Senator
Edward J. Glackin, himself a representative of the west side in the upper
house of the general assembly. His interest found expression in the formu-
320 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
lation of a bill which he introduced February 23, 1905, providing for the
establishment of a state sanitarium for the care of curable cases of tuber-
culosis. It called for an appropriation of $200,000 for the purchase of land
and the construction of buildings. With subsequent amendments and with
the appropriation reduced to $25,000 the bill passed both branches of the
legislature in May, 1905, but failed to receive the approval of the governor.
After that Senator Glackin introduced four bills for the establishment of a
state tuberculosis sanitarium, but they failed to receive the necessary support.
In the meantime expert opinion in Illinois crystallized in favor of enabling
cities and counties, rather than the state as a whole, to construct and operate
sanitaria for the care of their own tuberculosis patients. In conformity with
this sentiment Senator Glackin introduced on January 14, 1908, a bill em-
powering cities to establish and maintain tuberculosis sanitaria. In this
connection a four mill tax was set aside. Glackin's bill became a law July
1, 1908.
Chicago with its large tuberculosis problem was the first city of the state
to study this law in its application to the local situation. The Chicago
Tuberculosis Institute,, an organization of physicians and laymen chartered
March 17, 1906, having for its purpose the prevention and treatment of con-
sumption and other forms of tuberculosis, gave this important measure
thorough consideration and resolved to advocate its acceptance by the
municipality provided certain amendments were enacted, the chief of which
was the reduction of the maximum rate of tax lexy from four mills to one.
This was accomplished during the regular biennial session of the forty-sixth
general assembly, through an amendment passed on March 12, 1909, and
immediately after that the institute proceeded with a campaign for the
adoption of the sanitarium act. The referendum vote was 167,230 for and
39,410 against.
The city tuberculosis act, as originally framed, became operative in Chi-
cago on April 16, 1909. On April 19 Mayor Busse appointed a board of
directors to administer the tuberculosis sanitarium fund accruing under
the operation of the special municipal tax as well as to prepare plans for
the sanitarium.
The first board of directors consisted of Harlow N. Higinbotham, Dr.
Theodore B. Sachs and Dr. W. A. Evans, who served ex-officio, being com-
missioner of health at the time. The board organized with Mr. Higinbotham
as president and Dr. Sachs as secretary.
Shortly after its organization the board, under a liberal interpretation
of the law, created the municipal tuberculosis dispensary system whose func-
tions were later amplified when, in 1913, Senator Glackin procured passage
of an amendment to the statute extending the benefits and privileges of the
sanitarium to the homes of persons afflicted with tuberculosis. The actual
work of directing and mapping out the plans of the sanitarium was assigned
on March 1, 1911, to Dr. Sachs.
The board anticipated the tax levy of 1911 by issuing tax warrants for
$10,000 and on September 19, 1911, entered into an agreement with the
Chicago Tuberculosis Institute by which seven dispensaries operated by the
Institute passed under the control of the sanitarium.
With the transfer of the dispensaries, their nursing force, consisting of
Miss Edna L. Foley, superintendent of nurses, and eleven field nurses, was
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO 321
retained by the sanitarium. Frank E. Wing, at that time superintendent
of the Institute, was elected general superintendent. Thus was laid the
foundation of an extensive system around which it was planned to group
all other institutional agencies for the control of tuberculosis in Chicago.
The board encountered many difficulties in its effort to procure a site for
the sanitarium. Finally the city council in January, 1911, ordered the purchase
of 160 acres of land about nine miles from the down town district. On the
north it is bounded by Peterson Road, on -the south by Bryn Mawr Avenue,
on the east by North Central Park Avenue and on the west by North Craw-
ford Avenue. Formerly a number of small farms composed this tract of
land. The soil is black loam well suited for farming purposes. After the
purchase of the site the ground was thoroughly drained with traversing lines
of tiling from 50 to 100 feet apart.
On May 2, 1911, the board of directors appointed William A. Otis and
Edwin H. Clark architects of the sanitarium. The work of preparing the
plans required two years.
In the layout of the sanitarium, the administration building, service build-
ing, dining halls, infirmary group and power house were placed along the
median line of the grounds running from west to east. The south section
is reserved for the cottages of ambulant women patients, the north section
for men. The entire group of buildings is so placed as to leave ample
ground for farming and gardening.
All the buildings located on the median line face west with the exception
of the infirmary wings and the two dining halls, the exposures of which are
south. They are all connected by a special service tunnel running a dis-
tance of 1,500 feet.
The administration building comes first, being reached from the main
entrance to the grounds by a driveway 1,400 feet long. This building is
removed 800 feet from North Crawford Avenue. Next, 100 feet from the
administration building, comes the dining hall for men patients, the service
building and east of it the dining hall for women patients. These buildings
are connected by inclosed corridors and form by their position a cross, the
horizontal line being represented by the service building.
: ;Qrie: hundred and twenty-five feet .from, the women's, dining vhall . comes'
.tbe: .group ; of- irtfir'mary -buildings- Consisting of " an1 administration : building
and two wings forming-, by .their "position ;the le'ttef H. The infirmary has
a capacity of 300 be'ds.
The power house and laundry are at the extreme eastern point of the
median line of buildings, placed at a distance of 500 feet from the infirmary.
The open air cottages for ambulant men and women patients, with a unit
administration building in the center of each, form two separate groups
of buildings, one on the south, and the other on the north side of the grounds.
Of the ultimate number of twenty-eight cottages, twenty are for adults
and eight for children. The cottages, of which there are now sixteen, face
southeast, this position furnishing the best protection against the prevailing
northwest winds. They are 100 feet apart from end to end and are placed
in rows separated by- lawns 125 feet wide. The distance between the cot-
tages and the central group of administration buildings varies from 175
feet to 600 feet.
322 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
At the opening of the institution in March, 1915, there were twelve cot-
tages for ambulant adult patients and four cottages for children, with a
total capacity of 380 beds. The total bed capacity of the entire institution
is now 950.
The open air cottages for ambulant patients are one-story buildings of
frame construction with stucco interior. The cottages consist of a central
enclosed portion with two open porches on each side. The central portion
includes a living room, the front of which projects nine feet beyond the two
adjoining porches, and a rear annex containing the dressing rooms, bath and
toilet facilities.
The porches, sixty-three feet long by eighteen feet wide, contain the fol-
lowing distinctive features :
The front is open with the exception of a solid railing two feet high and
a continuous row of transoms intended for ventilation in stormy weather,
when the five foot open space extending from railing to the transoms is
closed by means of canvas curtains.
The end walls of each porch have three windows toward the rear and a
large sliding door in the front which, when open, adds materially to the
ventilation. The rear wall of the porch has a row of thirteen windows,
which in groups of three are placed four feet, nine inches above the floor.
Additional ventilation is provided by means of two ventilators in the roof
over the porch.
With the bed placed against the rear wall of the porch there is a space
of three feet between the bed and an area eleven feet wide extending the
length of the entire porch reserved for the reclining chairs, used by the
patients. The living room is eighteen feet by twenty-two feet, six inches
with the ceiling thirteen feet, five inches above the floor. It is steam
heated and has an open fire place, which materially adds to its attractiveness.
The important feature of the children's cottages at the sanitarium are :
The open air porch, which serves as sleeping quarters, is centrally located
and connects two end buildings. It is twenty-nine feet, nine inches long
and eighty feet, six inches wide, giving sufficient space for twenty-five or
more beds. The north, west and east sides of the porch are inclosed. The
south side is open, being treated in the same way as the corresponding side
in the cottages for adults. In front of the porch along its entire length is
an open terrace, two feet, three inches above the ground, which is planned
as an out door rest for children in favorable weather.
The inclosed east end contains an office with a window overlooking the
entire porch, an emergency hospital room, play rooms, dressing and bath
rooms. The inclosed west end contains a large school and assembly room.
The nurses' building is in the southwest section of the grounds, situated
within 600 feet of the main entrance and is so placed as to give the nurses
the necessary privacy and quietude.
The sanitarium cared for 2,248 patients during the year 1921.
The dispensary department is a very important department of the sanitarium
and maintains at the present time eight municipal tuberculosis dispensaries.
Gradually developed out of small beginnings in the latter part of the year
1907, the dispensaries have grown into a comprehensive administrative ma-
chinery for the prevention and control of tuberculosis in this city. While
adequate hospital and sanitarium provision for the care of tuberculous
patients is a very important factor in the solution of the tuberculosis situa-
HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
323
tion in any community, the magnitude of the problem in its various relations
to the home, the family and the community at large requires the operation
of a comprehensive administration scheme, the function of which should be
the control and prevention of disease in the environment of the patient as
well as painstaking, persistent education of the sufferer, of those about him
as well as the people at large on the general subject of maintenance of
health, prevention of the disease and the right method of care for those
afflicted. It falls to the dispensaries to perform that important task in the
campaign against the disease and to teach the community the far-reaching
effect of the early recognition of tuberculosis and early application of right
remedial measures.
For the year 1921, according to the report of Mr. Charles J. Happel, gen-
eral superintendent of the institution, the dispensaries had under supervision
33,833 patients.
The total value of the sanitarium plant and ground as of 1921 has been
fixed at $2,569,000. The value of the equipment is estimated at $271,000.
(Photo by Gates)
IROQUOIS MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
23 North Market Street
1423
ST. JAMES' HOSPITAL
Chicago Road, Chicago Heights
IROQUOIS ME MORI A L HOSPITAL
As a monument to the 575 persons who lost their lives in the Iroquois
theatre fire of December 30, 1903, the Iroquois Memorial Hospital was dedi-
cated and turned over to the city December 30, 1910. Funds necessary to the
erection of the building amounting to $40,000 were provided by the Iroquois
Memorial Association composed of relatives and friends of the victims.
324 HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN CHICAGO
The institution was designed to provide instant and free attention to
victims of accidents down town, the lack of which, it was said, was the
cause of many of the deaths resulting from the fire. In this behalf the hos-
pital particularly justified its mission when 250 victims of the Eastland
disaster were given the necessary first aid treatment. The efficiency of the
institution is well illustrated by the fact that during a hot spell in 1917 the
hospital handled 65 heat stroke and exhaustion cases with a record of only
two deaths.
In addition to fulfilling the obvious role of an emergency hospit